Hungary Genealogy

Guide to Hungary ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Country Information
Hungary is a country in Central Europe bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. From the eighteenth century to World War I it belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The official language is Hungarian. The lands of Hungary contributed great numbers of people to the waves of European Emigration from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. These were not just Hungarians, but also Romanians, Germans, Jews, Slovaks, Ukrainians, Serbs, and Croats. Many settled in the United States, Canada, and Australia where, generations later, their descendants now begin the task of seeking their Hungarian heritage.

Getting Started


Finding Your Ancestors' Town in Hungary

 * Genealogical records are organized by geographical locality. Civil registration (government birth, marriage, and death records) and church records (christenings/baptisms, marriages, and burials) were kept at the local level. To search these records, you must know the town where your ancestors lived.
 * If you do not know your ancestors' town, follow the advice in the Wiki article, Hungary Finding Town of Origin, to search a variety of records that might provide that information.

Counties
As of 1950, Hungary contains the following counties:

Historic Counties of Hungary
After 1876 (or 1881 for Abaúj-Torna and Krassó-Szörény), the Kingdom of Hungary contained the following 63 counties:
 * Abaúj-Torna --now split between Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hungary, and Košice Region, Slovakia.
 * Arad--In 1920, Most went to Romania—small southern part wen to Békés.
 * Bács-Bodrog--In 1918, Northern 15% went to Bács-Kiskun, 85% went to Yugoslavia
 * Bars--Became Tekov County, Slovakia
 * Bihar--now mostly in northwestern Romania (as Bihor County), and a smaller part in Hajdú-Bihar County, eastern Hungary.
 * Borsod--merged into Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén.
 * Csanád--divided between Békés, Csongrád, and Romania (county of Arad, Romania).
 * Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kis-Kun--The present county of Pest was formed after World War II, when the former county Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun was split in two parts (the other part is within present-day Bács-Kiskun).
 * Pozsony
 * Zemplén

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records
 * Family History Center locator map
 * Reference Aids Overview at the Family History Library