Belgium Genealogical Records
Belgium Birth & Baptism Records
An index to over 410,000 birth and baptism records, listing parents' names.
A small index to several-hundred-thousand records from select countries.
Belgium Marriage & Divorce Records
An index to more than 30,000 marriage records, including personal details, names of relations and particulars of marriage.
Belgium Death & Burial Records
A searchable database of over 1 million Jewish burials with photographs of the matzevot.
An index to more than 70,000 marriage records, including personal details, names of relations and particulars of marriage.
An index of around 70,000 death and burial records. The index may include names of relatives and details of the death.
Newspapers Covering Belgium
An index to over 2.1 million people mentioned in Associated Press stories, including name, subject, location, date and a reference to the article.
An index to and digital images of hundreds-of-thousands of world newspaper articles.
An index to around 500,000 Associated Press articles.
Belgium Military Records
An index to over 6.5 million medals and awards bestowed on British military personnel. The awards are the British War Medal, Allied Victory Medal, 1914 Star, Territorial War Force Medal and Allied Subjects Medal; the latter of which contains many French, Belgians and Dutch.
A series of letters forming a war diary, penned by a British solider during WWII. They cover his time in Norway, France and Belgium.
Belgium Directories & Gazetteers
A statistic and descriptive gazetteer of nations.
Useful for locating places, this searchable gazetteer gives brief details, latitude and longitude for more than 1.5 million features, places and regions throughout the world.
Belgium Cemeteries
Photographs and transcriptions of millions of gravestones from cemeteries around the world.
Belgium Histories & Books
Over 60 million historic photographs and documents submitted to Ancestry. This rich collection contains many rare sources of interest to local historians and will be relevant to most genealogical research.
Over 7 million remembrances and historic details submitted by Ancestry members. Useful for local historians.
Belgium Occupation & Business Records
A database of cricket scores and players.
Pedigrees & Family Trees Covering Belgium
The lineages of German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Czech and Austrian royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.
The lineages of French royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.
A searchable database of linked genealogies compiled from thousands of reputable and not-so-reputable sources. Contains many details on European gentry & nobility, but covers many countries outside Europe and people from all walks of life.
A compilation of lineage-linked family trees submitted by Ancestry users. The database contains over 2 billion individuals and is searchable by numerous metrics.
A searchable database of linked families. It largely covers royalty and nobility, but also contains actors, footballers and American presidents.
Belgium Royalty, Nobility & Heraldry Records
The lineages of German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Czech and Austrian royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.
The lineages of French royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.
A searchable database of linked genealogies compiled from thousands of reputable and not-so-reputable sources. Contains many details on European gentry & nobility, but covers many countries outside Europe and people from all walks of life.
A searchable database of linked families. It largely covers royalty and nobility, but also contains actors, footballers and American presidents.
Belgium Maps
An interactive index to thousands of maps covering the world, continents, countries and regions. The majority of maps cover Britain and Ireland.
Historical Description
The kingdom of Belgium is quickly regaining its former prosperous condition. The Railways are already operating 80 per cent. of their pre-war goods and factories show a production equal to 75 per cent, of their normal standard. In 1919, the population was 7,577,027, with the Flemish and French elements about equally divided, covering an area of 11,392 square miles. Agriculture is largely followed, but Belgium must be considered essentially a manufacturing country, dependent to a certain extent upon others for the simple necessities of life. Hence it has always been a valuable field for the British exporter. In 1920, the figures were £68,525,682 and £44,925,208 respectively. The principal imports comprise cotton and woollen yarns and manufactures, machinery, metals and hardware. The following are the most populous centres of Belgian industry:—Brussels, with suburbs (1912, pop. 756,637), and Bruges, as well as Mechlin and Antwerp (pop. 312,384, exclusive of suburbs), famous for their laces; Charleroi, for iron, steel, and glassware ; Liege (pop. 174,768), for firearms; Ghent (pop. 165,149), for linens, and Verviers for woollens.
Most Common Surnames in Belgium
| Rank | Surname | Incidence | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peeters | 41,260 | 1:279 | |
| 2 | Janssens | 37,577 | 1:306 | |
| 3 | Maes | 31,907 | 1:360 | |
| 4 | Jacobs | 25,300 | 1:454 | |
| 5 | Mertens | 23,591 | 1:487 | |
| 6 | Willems | 23,325 | 1:493 | |
| 7 | Claes | 20,551 | 1:559 | |
| 8 | Wouters | 19,874 | 1:578 | |
| 9 | Goossens | 19,552 | 1:588 | |
| 10 | Dubois | 18,272 | 1:629 | |
| 11 | de Smet | 17,411 | 1:660 | |
| 12 | Pauwels | 16,685 | 1:689 | |
| 13 | Vermeulen | 16,681 | 1:689 | |
| 14 | Hermans | 16,474 | 1:698 | |
| 15 | Lambert | 16,304 | 1:705 | |
| 16 | Aerts | 15,584 | 1:738 | |
| 17 | Michiels | 14,989 | 1:767 | |
| 18 | Dupont | 14,956 | 1:769 | |
| 19 | Martens | 13,752 | 1:836 | |
| 20 | de Vos | 13,617 | 1:844 | |
| 21 | Smets | 13,292 | 1:865 | |
| 22 | Martin | 13,056 | 1:881 | |
| 23 | van de Velde | 13,048 | 1:881 | |
| 24 | Desmet | 12,963 | 1:887 | |
| 25 | Hendrickx | 12,787 | 1:899 | |
| 26 | van Damme | 12,718 | 1:904 | |
| 27 | Claeys | 12,711 | 1:904 | |
| 28 | Devos | 12,519 | 1:918 | |
| 29 | Janssen | 12,407 | 1:927 | |
| 30 | Stevens | 12,295 | 1:935 | |
| 31 | Dumont | 11,848 | 1:970 | |
| 32 | de Clercq | 11,742 | 1:979 | |
| 33 | de Backer | 11,549 | 1:995 | |
| 34 | Segers | 11,432 | 1:1,006 | |
| 35 | Lemmens | 11,198 | 1:1,027 | |
| 36 | Leroy | 11,065 | 1:1,039 | |
| 37 | van den Broeck | 10,986 | 1:1,046 | |
| 38 | Coppens | 10,801 | 1:1,064 | |
| 39 | Simon | 10,393 | 1:1,106 | |
| 40 | Wauters | 10,108 | 1:1,137 | |
| 41 | Laurent | 10,094 | 1:1,139 | |
| 42 | Leclercq | 10,066 | 1:1,142 | |
| 43 | Renard | 9,745 | 1:1,180 | |
| 44 | Denis | 9,549 | 1:1,204 | |
| 45 | Verhoeven | 9,356 | 1:1,229 | |
| 46 | Lejeune | 9,311 | 1:1,235 | |
| 47 | Cools | 8,980 | 1:1,280 | |
| 48 | Declercq | 8,920 | 1:1,289 | |
| 49 | de Cock | 8,748 | 1:1,314 | |
| 50 | Petit | 8,726 | 1:1,318 | |
| 51 | Charlier | 8,725 | 1:1,318 | |
| 52 | Thomas | 8,701 | 1:1,321 | |
| 53 | Lemaire | 8,647 | 1:1,330 | |
| 54 | Smet | 8,522 | 1:1,349 | |
| 55 | Timmermans | 8,488 | 1:1,354 | |
| 56 | de Smedt | 8,397 | 1:1,369 | |
| 57 | de Meyer | 8,374 | 1:1,373 | |
| 58 | Michel | 8,303 | 1:1,385 | |
| 59 | Vandenberghe | 8,284 | 1:1,388 | |
| 60 | Thys | 8,154 | 1:1,410 | |
| 61 | Bertrand | 8,115 | 1:1,417 | |
| 62 | de Ridder | 8,106 | 1:1,418 | |
| 63 | Lenaerts | 8,072 | 1:1,424 | |
| 64 | Cornelis | 8,037 | 1:1,430 | |
| 65 | de Wilde | 8,021 | 1:1,433 | |
| 66 | Bauwens | 7,993 | 1:1,438 | |
| 67 | de Pauw | 7,990 | 1:1,439 | |
| 68 | Verheyen | 7,973 | 1:1,442 | |
| 69 | van den Bossche | 7,901 | 1:1,455 | |
| 70 | Lefebvre | 7,897 | 1:1,456 | |
| 71 | Mathieu | 7,863 | 1:1,462 | |
| 72 | Carlier | 7,854 | 1:1,464 | |
| 73 | Evrard | 7,826 | 1:1,469 | |
| 74 | Baert | 7,759 | 1:1,482 | |
| 75 | Verstraete | 7,750 | 1:1,483 | |
| 76 | Moens | 7,698 | 1:1,493 | |
| 77 | Lauwers | 7,661 | 1:1,501 | |
| 78 | Bernard | 7,633 | 1:1,506 | |
| 79 | Lambrechts | 7,616 | 1:1,510 | |
| 80 | Bosmans | 7,434 | 1:1,546 | |
| 81 | Bogaert | 7,405 | 1:1,553 | |
| 82 | Geerts | 7,388 | 1:1,556 | |
| 83 | Fontaine | 7,375 | 1:1,559 | |
| 84 | Bogaerts | 7,264 | 1:1,583 | |
| 85 | Verlinden | 7,262 | 1:1,583 | |
| 86 | Gerard | 7,243 | 1:1,587 | |
| 87 | Christiaens | 7,096 | 1:1,620 | |
| 88 | Deprez | 7,071 | 1:1,626 | |
| 89 | Verbeke | 7,015 | 1:1,639 | |
| 90 | Vermeiren | 7,009 | 1:1,640 | |
| 91 | Verschueren | 6,920 | 1:1,661 | |
| 92 | Marchal | 6,918 | 1:1,662 | |
| 93 | Beckers | 6,886 | 1:1,670 | |
| 94 | Delvaux | 6,885 | 1:1,670 | |
| 95 | Legrand | 6,884 | 1:1,670 | |
| 96 | Jansen | 6,860 | 1:1,676 | |
| 97 | Wuyts | 6,760 | 1:1,701 | |
| 98 | Adam | 6,751 | 1:1,703 | |
| 99 | Simons | 6,664 | 1:1,725 | |
| 100 | Verstraeten | 6,605 | 1:1,741 | |
| 101 | Collard | 6,562 | 1:1,752 | |
| 102 | Moreau | 6,559 | 1:1,753 | |
| 103 | Verhaeghe | 6,522 | 1:1,763 | |
| 104 | Claessens | 6,484 | 1:1,773 | |
| 105 | Mahieu | 6,454 | 1:1,781 | |
| 106 | Vermeersch | 6,453 | 1:1,782 | |
| 107 | Vandamme | 6,441 | 1:1,785 | |
| 108 | Thijs | 6,374 | 1:1,804 | |
| 109 | Nijs | 6,356 | 1:1,809 | |
| 110 | Henry | 6,328 | 1:1,817 | |
| 111 | Robert | 6,285 | 1:1,829 | |
| 112 | Lefevre | 6,269 | 1:1,834 | |
| 113 | Jacques | 6,214 | 1:1,850 | |
| 114 | Pieters | 6,205 | 1:1,853 | |
| 115 | Thiry | 6,195 | 1:1,856 | |
| 116 | Heylen | 6,158 | 1:1,867 | |
| 117 | van Hoof | 6,151 | 1:1,869 | |
| 118 | de Groote | 6,123 | 1:1,878 | |
| 119 | D'Hondt | 6,102 | 1:1,884 | |
| 120 | Verhaegen | 6,074 | 1:1,893 | |
| 121 | Ceulemans | 6,060 | 1:1,897 | |
| 122 | van Dyck | 6,043 | 1:1,902 | |
| 123 | Goethals | 6,042 | 1:1,903 | |
| 124 | Lievens | 5,990 | 1:1,919 | |
| 125 | François | 5,981 | 1:1,922 | |
| 126 | Vandevelde | 5,975 | 1:1,924 | |
| 127 | Callens | 5,964 | 1:1,928 | |
| 128 | de Coster | 5,958 | 1:1,930 | |
| 129 | Noel | 5,925 | 1:1,940 | |
| 130 | van Hove | 5,909 | 1:1,946 | |
| 131 | van Hecke | 5,885 | 1:1,954 | |
| 132 | Servais | 5,854 | 1:1,964 | |
| 133 | Raes | 5,842 | 1:1,968 | |
| 134 | Bastin | 5,822 | 1:1,975 | |
| 135 | de Bruyn | 5,807 | 1:1,980 | |
| 136 | Leemans | 5,792 | 1:1,985 | |
| 137 | de Coninck | 5,745 | 1:2,001 | |
| 138 | Verbruggen | 5,730 | 1:2,006 | |
| 139 | Parmentier | 5,687 | 1:2,022 | |
| 140 | Dierckx | 5,672 | 1:2,027 | |
| 141 | Vercruysse | 5,620 | 1:2,046 | |
| 142 | Gillet | 5,613 | 1:2,048 | |
| 143 | Verhelst | 5,602 | 1:2,052 | |
| 144 | van Acker | 5,594 | 1:2,055 | |
| 145 | Roels | 5,570 | 1:2,064 | |
| 145 | Vercammen | 5,570 | 1:2,064 | |
| 147 | Hubert | 5,553 | 1:2,070 | |
| 148 | Lebrun | 5,544 | 1:2,074 | |
| 149 | Gielen | 5,521 | 1:2,082 | |
| 150 | Luyten | 5,514 | 1:2,085 | |
| 150 | Somers | 5,514 | 1:2,085 | |
| 152 | Rousseau | 5,499 | 1:2,091 | |
| 153 | Guillaume | 5,493 | 1:2,093 | |
| 154 | Cuypers | 5,457 | 1:2,107 | |
| 155 | Descamps | 5,453 | 1:2,108 | |
| 156 | Daems | 5,428 | 1:2,118 | |
| 157 | Matthys | 5,394 | 1:2,131 | |
| 158 | de Decker | 5,390 | 1:2,133 | |
| 159 | Toussaint | 5,361 | 1:2,144 | |
| 160 | Vandewalle | 5,357 | 1:2,146 | |
| 161 | Mortier | 5,349 | 1:2,149 | |
| 162 | Goffin | 5,345 | 1:2,151 | |
| 163 | Vercauteren | 5,333 | 1:2,156 | |
| 164 | Verdonck | 5,332 | 1:2,156 | |
| 165 | Herman | 5,323 | 1:2,160 | |
| 165 | Swinnen | 5,323 | 1:2,160 | |
| 167 | van den Bergh | 5,315 | 1:2,163 | |
| 168 | Smeets | 5,286 | 1:2,175 | |
| 169 | Andries | 5,258 | 1:2,187 | |
| 170 | de Bruyne | 5,239 | 1:2,194 | |
| 171 | Louis | 5,238 | 1:2,195 | |
| 172 | Collin | 5,233 | 1:2,197 | |
| 173 | van den Berghe | 5,230 | 1:2,198 | |
| 174 | Huybrechts | 5,199 | 1:2,211 | |
| 175 | Vervoort | 5,180 | 1:2,219 | |
| 176 | Peters | 5,174 | 1:2,222 | |
| 177 | de Witte | 5,170 | 1:2,224 | |
| 178 | Michaux | 5,135 | 1:2,239 | |
| 179 | Nys | 5,112 | 1:2,249 | |
| 180 | Verbeeck | 5,105 | 1:2,252 | |
| 181 | de Winter | 5,078 | 1:2,264 | |
| 182 | de Keyser | 5,071 | 1:2,267 | |
| 183 | Meert | 5,061 | 1:2,272 | |
| 184 | de Bock | 5,055 | 1:2,274 | |
| 185 | Vanneste | 5,053 | 1:2,275 | |
| 186 | Declerck | 5,042 | 1:2,280 | |
| 187 | Vos | 5,034 | 1:2,284 | |
| 188 | Antoine | 4,995 | 1:2,302 | |
| 189 | van Den Eynde | 4,976 | 1:2,310 | |
| 190 | Cornet | 4,972 | 1:2,312 | |
| 191 | Dierickx | 4,940 | 1:2,327 | |
| 192 | de Boeck | 4,928 | 1:2,333 | |
| 193 | Verhulst | 4,926 | 1:2,334 | |
| 194 | Claus | 4,911 | 1:2,341 | |
| 195 | Verheyden | 4,907 | 1:2,343 | |
| 196 | Dewulf | 4,904 | 1:2,344 | |
| 197 | van Daele | 4,846 | 1:2,372 | |
| 198 | Coenen | 4,834 | 1:2,378 | |
| 199 | de Wolf | 4,833 | 1:2,379 | |
| 200 | Moons | 4,820 | 1:2,385 | |