Spain Genealogy

Europe Spain Guide to Spain genealogy. Birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Country Information
Spain is a country in Southwest Europe bordered by Gibraltar, France, Andorra, and Portugal. Spanish is the official language.

Autonomous Communities
Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad autonoma) and 2 autonomous cities* (ciudades autonomas, singular - ciudad autonoma).

Note: The autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central government, are all along the coast of Morocco and are collectively referred to as Places of Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania).

Provinces
Spain is divided into 50 provinces. Each province belongs to one of 17 autonomous communities. A list of the provinces of Spain and access to their individual pages can be found below and in the article Spain Provinces

More Spain Research Strategies
Research strategies give guidance on how to research or what records to search for first. Below are additional research strategy Wiki articles for Spain.
 * Spanish Script Tutorial
 * "Reading Spanish Handwritten Records"
 * Understanding "Spanish Script"
 * BYU Research Outline for Spain
 * Spanish naming customs

More Spain Research Tools
Research tools can include resources that assist in locating correct records to search and determining the correct locality to search in. Below are links and Wiki articles to research tools in Spain.
 * Spain Genealogy Links
 * Genealogía Española - España GenWeb - in Spanish
 * Biblioteca Nacional de España Collections - in English
 * Hispanic Genealogy Blog

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in resourcing your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records - databases and record images on FamilySearch
 * Family History Center locator map