Ukraine Gazetteers

In order to research your family in Ukraine, it is essential that you have identified the actual town name of where they came from. It is not enough to know only ‘Ukraine;' you really need to determine the town name and hopefully, the district/province name.

Once you have determined the name of the town your ancestor came from, you'll need to locate it in a gazetteer to find both current and historical town names, jurisdictions, and the parish.

Gesher Galicia - Town Locator
Though focused on Jewish records, this gazetteer should include all towns in Galicia, including Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic parish information: Gesher Galicia -- Galician Town Locator (1900). The gazetteer is organized in a tabular format, alphabetically. Locate your town and use the column headings to see districts, and the respective Roman, Greek Catholic, or Jewish center information.

Genealogical Gazetteer of Galicia
The Genealogical Gazetteer of Galicia includes the location of the Catholic parish and Greek Catholic, Lutheran, and Jewish congregations. Written in Polish, German, and Ukrainian. The book includes a section on alternate spellings of locations (Ukrainian spellings, etc.) and provides the location of Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, and Lutheran parishes as well as the Jewish synagogue. This book is not available online, but can be accessed at the Family History Library (FHL INTL book 943.86 E5L 1999).

JewishGen Communities Database
The JewishGen Communities Database contains data on approximately 6,000 Jewish Communities in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. It is a great resource to help you locate your ancestor's town - regardless of whether or not your ancestor was Jewish. You can use this database to find modern and historical place names as well as jurisdictions over time. To learn how to use the JewishGen Communities Database, see the "How to" Guide.
 * First, read through the [[Media:1 - Instruction - JewishGen Communities JMR.pdf|Instruction.]]


 * Practice what you learned with the [[Media:2 - Activity - JewishGen Communities JMR.pdf|Activity.]]


 * Use the [[Media:3 - Key - JewishGen Communities JMR (1).pdf|Answer Key]] to check your answers.

Familio
The Familio place name database contains information about places in the former Russian Empire and modern-day countries of Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Ukraine, and Russia. In order to use the database, you will need to search using the Russian spelling of a town name. This can be located through Google Maps or Wikipedia articles about the town.

The website is is in Russian, but can be easily navigated using Google Translate. To translate the page into English, right click anywhere on the page and select the option Translate to English. To search, type the Russian version of the town name into the search by settlements box. You must type the name of the town in Russian characters. If you search in English, you will not get any results. You have the option to filter by country (Страна), Region (Регион), and District (translates as area) (Район). Hit enter on your keyboard, or click Find (Найти).

An entry contains information about a town including references to other gazetteers (may link to the Spiski Mest), for both historical time periods, as well as modern day gazetteers. There may also be additional information about the town available by investigating the tabs found underneath the map:
 * If you click on the Surnames (Фамилии) tab, you'll find other surnames that other Familio users are researching.
 * The People (Люди) tab includes individuals in the Familio family tree database associated with the town.
 * Sources (Источники) are a list of available records for the location (this has not been added for many entries in the database, but will be added in the future).
 * The Parishes (Приходы) option lists the nearest parishes (this has not been added for many entries in the database, but will be added in the future).
 * The Discussion (Обсуждение) tab is available to collaborate about the town with other Familio users.

Spiski Naselennykh Mest Rossiiskoi Imperii
The Spiski Naselennykh Mest Rossiiskoi Imperii, often referred to as simply the Spiski, is the foundational gazetteer for the Russian Empire. The gazetteer is organized by locality - first by gubernia (province), then by uyezd (county), and finally by the city, village, colony, or town. Each volume contains a locality index at the back of the book. In order to use this gazetteer effectively, you'll need to know which gubernia your ancestor's hometown was located in. Parts of Ukraine were formerly the Bessarabia, Chernigov, Kiev, Kharkov, Kherson (Odessa), Podolia (Podolsk), Poltava, Taurida (Crimea), Volhynia and Yekaterinoslav gubernii.


 * Bessarabia Gubernia Spiski Mest, 1859-1861
 * Chernigov Gubernia Spiski Mest, 1859-1866
 * Kiev Gubernia Spiski Mest, 1901
 * Kharkov Gubernia Spiski Mest, 1864-1869
 * Kherson Gubernia Spiski Mest, 1868
 * Podolia (Podolsk) Gubernia, 1893 (alternate gazetteer)
 * Poltava Gubernia Spiski Mest, 1862
 * Taurida Gubernia Spiski Mest, 1865
 * Volhynia Gubernia Spiski Mest, 1906
 * Yekaterinoslav Gubernia Spiski Mest, 1859-1863

Ukrains'ka RSR admynystrativno-teritoryal'nii podyl [Ukrainian Republic Administrative Territorial Divisions]. Kiev: Politychnaia Literatura Ukraini, 1973. (Book 947.71 E5u). Lists each village, town, or city under its appropriate jurisdiction. The text is in Ukrainian. It includes a locality index. While this administrative directory is published for other years, the 1973 edition is the basis for locality authorities created for the FamilySearch Catalog.

Istoriia Mist i Sil USSR [History of Towns and Villages in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]. Kiev: Instytut Istorii Akademii Nauk URSR, 1969-1974. 26 v. Encyclopedia of Ukraine (missing vols. for Rivne, Chemivets at the Family History Library). (Book 947.71 E5i). Along with a basic history for each locality, this set of books provides invaluable information on name changes. The text is in Ukrainian. Each volume is indexed.

Western Ukraine Lenius, Brian J. Genealogical Gazetteer of Galicia. 3rd ed. Anoia, Manitoba, 1999. (Book 943.86 E5L). Identifies religious jurisdictions. Covers Galicia &amp; Bukovina (Western Ukraine).

Western Ukraine/German names Bigo, Jan. Najnowszy Skorowidz wszystkich miejscowości z przysiółkami w królestwie Galicyi (Newest Listing of All Localities With Hamlets in Galicia). Lwów, 1897. Includes Bukowina. (Film 2037058, item 3-4). Identifies the German spelling of place names in territory occupied by the Soviet Union after World War II.

Western Ukraine/Polish names Bystrzycki, Tadeusz. Skorowidz mieiscowosci rzeczypospolitej polskiej (Listing of Localities of the Polish Republic). Przemysl: Wydawnictwa ksiaznicy naukowej, 1934. 2 vols. (Book 943.8 E5sm/Film 1343868). Covers localities under Polish jurisdiction between the world wars.