Norway Census, 1875 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Title in the Language of the Record (Norwegian)
Folketellingen for kongeriget Norge den 31te desember 1875

Record Description
The census is handwritten on printed forms. It is arranged by county, clerical district, farm number, and residence. The original records are preserved in the regional archives throughout Norway. The records are in Norwegian.

The 1875 census was conducted beginning December 31, 1875, and all the information recorded should pertain to that date even though some information was gathered at a later date. This census includes 99% of the population and contains the persons name, sex, whether resident or temporary resident, those absent from the parish and their location at the time of the census, position in the family, occupation, marital status, year of birth, place of birth, religion if a person did not belong to the state church, and other miscellaneous information.

The Norwegian government created the census primarily as a source of statistical information on Norway’s population.

The 1875 census is fairly reliable, depending on the knowledge of the informant and the care of the census enumerator. Information may have been given to a census taker by any member of the family or by a neighbor. As a result, some information may have been incorrect.

This index is not complete. Localities that were previously indexed and are available online at Digitalarkivet are not included in this index at this time.

Coverage Table
This collection is a partial index of records for the localities listed below as of April 2010. The table below shows the number of records by locality. Localities not listed may not have any records in this collection.

Record Content
The census includes the following information:


 * Full name
 * Gender
 * Role in the household
 * Position in the family
 * Whether temporary or permanent resident
 * Those absent from the parish and their location at the time of the census
 * Marital status
 * Occupation
 * Year of birth
 * Place of birth
 * Citizenship
 * Religion
 * Crops and animals (if the residence is a farm)
 * Other miscellaneous information

How to Use the Records
The 1875 census is a good source to quickly identify a family group since it lists who is in the household and how they are related.

To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * Name of your ancestor
 * Identifying information such as birth date and residence

Search the Collection
To search the collection fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Norwegian. For help with reading the records see the following wiki articles:


 * Norway Language and Languages
 * Norwegian Language Information
 * Norwegian Word List

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors. For example use the place of residence, birthplace, and date of each person to search for other types of records, such as church records.

Tips to Keep in Mind

 * This index is not complete. Localities that were previously indexed and are available online at Digitalarkivet are not included in this index at this time.
 * Continue to search the index and records to identify other relatives.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct. Be aware that many individuals have the same name.
 * Individuals often go by nick names. Be sure to check for all variations of the names
 * You may need to compare the information of more than one family or person to make this determination.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Search the indexes and records of nearby localities.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.
 * There is also the possibility that a family was missed in the census.

Related Websites

 * The 1801 Census at Digitalarkivet (The National Archives of Norway)
 * Digitalarkivet - WebMeta Database Selector

Related Wiki Articles

 * Norway Genealogy
 * Norway Census
 * Norway History

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):