Mark your calendars – on October 2nd, I am launching my new subscription program, “Steps to Latvian Genealogy Success”! Who is this program for? This program is for people who want to do their own Latvian genealogical research, but are
Debunking Latvian Genealogy Myths: The Same Surname Means We’re Related!
This is the third post in a series on debunking myths about Latvian genealogy. See the first post about records availability here and the second post about name spelling here. Today’s myth: I found someone with the same surname. That
Debunking Latvian Genealogy Myths: My Family Name is Only Spelled One Way!
This is the second in a series about myths relating to Latvian genealogy. Go check out the first one about record availability here! Today’s myth: “My ancestors only spelled their surname one way.” Wrong. Very wrong. Very incredibly wrong. If
Finnic Influences in Latvia: Language and Vocabulary
This is the last post in a series on Finnic influences in Latvia. You can also read the other posts in the series about Finnic influence on place names and personal names, as well as read about population crossover at
Mappy Monday – Ethnic and Religious Enclaves
Latvia is not and has never been one monoethnic entity. Certainly, Latvians – and Luteran Latvians, at that – have made up the majority, but they are not the only ones living in Latvia. Throughout the years, there have been
Finnic Influences in Latvia: Population Crossover
This is the third post in a series about Finnic influences in Latvia. You can read the first one about place names here and the second one about personal names here. Today we will be looking at population crossover. But
G is for Germans
What’s next in the Family History Through the Alphabet challenge? Germans! Germans and the German language have a long history in Latvia. Ever since the first bishops of Bremen came to Latvian territory in the late 12th century to Christianize
Sorting Out Ethnicity
So you have established that your ancestors lived on Latvian territory. But what were their ethnic origins? Latvia has been a multi-ethnic territory for centuries, so the distinctions between ethnic groups might not always be so clear in the old
Surname Saturday – Time for Dinner!
When Latvian peasants were choosing surnames after emancipation from serfdom, they were strongly encouraged by the German and Russian rulers to choose names in their own language, and were forbidden to choose names of local nobles or famous people. While
Important Latvian/German/Russian Words
Language can be one of the biggest obstacles to tracing Latvian genealogy. However, it is not an insurmountable one. Most records follow specific patterns, and once you know what to look for in the patterns, you can easily find what