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
Forename Friday – Fire and Light
Today’s Forename Friday is dedicated to given names that relate to fire and light. This is an interesting category, because so many Latvian names come from it. But as I’ve mentioned before, even though there are many names in this
Britons in 1870s Latvia?
I’ve been looking through the church records for the Sece Lutheran congregation, in southern Latvia. South of the Daugava river, between the towns of Jaunjelgava and JÄ“kabpils. My great-grandfather Brencis LÄ«cÄ«tis is allegedly from around this area, born in the
Surname Saturday – Kukurs
This edition of Surname Saturday is about the surname Kukurs. I have chosen this surname for two reasons – a person with this surname in my family tree is currently giving me trouble, and I happened across the definition of
Forename Friday – “Saule”
Today’s edition of Forename Friday is dedicated to names derived from the word “saule”, meaning “sun”. Names derived from “saule” are not very popular, even though a number of them exist. But when I searched the PMLP personal name database
Latvian Genealogical Society
There quite a number of people interested in Latvian genealogy, but there is no Latvian genealogical society. Until now! If you’re interested in helping start up the Latvian Genealogical Society, please go and read this page on my main site,
Forename Friday – “Laime”
The genea-blogging community has Surname Saturday, so why not Forename Friday? This is not meant to exclude those from cultures where given names appear after surnames, but there is no day of the week starting with a G for “given
Latvian Record Project
Now it is time for the unveiling of my most ambitious project – the Latvian Record Project! That’s right, I’m working on transcribing and indexing all of the Latvian records that I can. I’m starting with Lutheran church records, and
Navigating Raduraksti
I make many references to LVVA’s Raduraksti. It is the best resource for people researching their Latvian family history if they’re not able to go to the LVVA itself. The collection of documents available there is growing – recently they
Latvian Surname Project
Squeaking in for Surname Saturday (in somebody else’s timezone…)… Today, I bring you the launch of the Latvian Surname Project! The most common search term that brings people to my blog is “Latvian surnames”. Therefore, I thought starting a resource