Belgium Genealogical Records

Belgium Birth & Baptism Records

Belgium Birth & Baptism Index (1560-1890)

An index to over 410,000 birth and baptism records, listing parents' names.

Miscellaneous Births & Baptisms Index (1534-1983)

A small index to several-hundred-thousand records from select countries.

Belgium Marriage & Divorce Records

Miscellaneous Marriage Index (1662-1945)

An index to more than 30,000 marriage records, including personal details, names of relations and particulars of marriage.

Belgium Death & Burial Records

Jewish Online Worldwide Burial Registry (1550-Present)

A searchable database of over 1 million Jewish burials with photographs of the matzevot.

Belgium Marriage Index (1563-1890)

An index to more than 70,000 marriage records, including personal details, names of relations and particulars of marriage.

Belgium Death & Burial Index (1564-1900)

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

Name Card Index to AP Stories (1905-1990)

An index to over 2.1 million people mentioned in Associated Press stories, including name, subject, location, date and a reference to the article.

AP Stories & Newsfeatures (1937-1985)

An index to and digital images of hundreds-of-thousands of world newspaper articles.

Subject Card Index to AP Stories (1937-1985)

An index to around 500,000 Associated Press articles.

Belgium Military Records

UK WWI Service Medal and Award Rolls (1914-1920)

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.

War Diaries of Lt. J.P.H.Guy (1940-1944)

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

CIA World Factbook (1994)

A statistic and descriptive gazetteer of nations.

World Foreign Gazetteer (1998)

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

Billion Graves (1200-Present)

Photographs and transcriptions of millions of gravestones from cemeteries around the world.

Belgium Histories & Books

Ancestry Member Photos & Documents (6000 BC-Present)

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.

Ancestry Member Stories (6000 BC-Present)

Over 7 million remembrances and historic details submitted by Ancestry members. Useful for local historians.

Belgium Occupation & Business Records

Cricket Archive (1844-Present)

A database of cricket scores and players.

Pedigrees & Family Trees Covering Belgium

Monarch and Nobles of Medieval Germany (514-1600)

The lineages of German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Czech and Austrian royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.

Monarch and Nobles of Medieval France (451-1608)

The lineages of French royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.

FamilySearch Community Trees (6000 BC-Present)

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.

Ancestry Member Family Trees (6000 BC-Present)

A compilation of lineage-linked family trees submitted by Ancestry users. The database contains over 2 billion individuals and is searchable by numerous metrics.

Genealogics (1400 BC-Present)

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

Monarch and Nobles of Medieval Germany (514-1600)

The lineages of German, Dutch, Luxembourgish, Czech and Austrian royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.

Monarch and Nobles of Medieval France (451-1608)

The lineages of French royalty and nobility, with biographical details and extracts from historic documents.

FamilySearch Community Trees (6000 BC-Present)

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.

Genealogics (1400 BC-Present)

A searchable database of linked families. It largely covers royalty and nobility, but also contains actors, footballers and American presidents.

Belgium Maps

Old Maps Online (1497-2010)

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.

The Newspaper Press Directory and Advertisers' Guide (1922)

Most Common Surnames in Belgium

RankSurnameIncidenceFrequency
1Peeters41,2601:279
2Janssens37,5771:306
3Maes31,9071:360
4Jacobs25,3001:454
5Mertens23,5911:487
6Willems23,3251:493
7Claes20,5511:559
8Wouters19,8741:578
9Goossens19,5521:588
10Dubois18,2721:629
11de Smet17,4111:660
12Pauwels16,6851:689
13Vermeulen16,6811:689
14Hermans16,4741:698
15Lambert16,3041:705
16Aerts15,5841:738
17Michiels14,9891:767
18Dupont14,9561:769
19Martens13,7521:836
20de Vos13,6171:844
21Smets13,2921:865
22Martin13,0561:881
23van de Velde13,0481:881
24Desmet12,9631:887
25Hendrickx12,7871:899
26van Damme12,7181:904
27Claeys12,7111:904
28Devos12,5191:918
29Janssen12,4071:927
30Stevens12,2951:935
31Dumont11,8481:970
32de Clercq11,7421:979
33de Backer11,5491:995
34Segers11,4321:1,006
35Lemmens11,1981:1,027
36Leroy11,0651:1,039
37van den Broeck10,9861:1,046
38Coppens10,8011:1,064
39Simon10,3931:1,106
40Wauters10,1081:1,137
41Laurent10,0941:1,139
42Leclercq10,0661:1,142
43Renard9,7451:1,180
44Denis9,5491:1,204
45Verhoeven9,3561:1,229
46Lejeune9,3111:1,235
47Cools8,9801:1,280
48Declercq8,9201:1,289
49de Cock8,7481:1,314
50Petit8,7261:1,318
51Charlier8,7251:1,318
52Thomas8,7011:1,321
53Lemaire8,6471:1,330
54Smet8,5221:1,349
55Timmermans8,4881:1,354
56de Smedt8,3971:1,369
57de Meyer8,3741:1,373
58Michel8,3031:1,385
59Vandenberghe8,2841:1,388
60Thys8,1541:1,410
61Bertrand8,1151:1,417
62de Ridder8,1061:1,418
63Lenaerts8,0721:1,424
64Cornelis8,0371:1,430
65de Wilde8,0211:1,433
66Bauwens7,9931:1,438
67de Pauw7,9901:1,439
68Verheyen7,9731:1,442
69van den Bossche7,9011:1,455
70Lefebvre7,8971:1,456
71Mathieu7,8631:1,462
72Carlier7,8541:1,464
73Evrard7,8261:1,469
74Baert7,7591:1,482
75Verstraete7,7501:1,483
76Moens7,6981:1,493
77Lauwers7,6611:1,501
78Bernard7,6331:1,506
79Lambrechts7,6161:1,510
80Bosmans7,4341:1,546
81Bogaert7,4051:1,553
82Geerts7,3881:1,556
83Fontaine7,3751:1,559
84Bogaerts7,2641:1,583
85Verlinden7,2621:1,583
86Gerard7,2431:1,587
87Christiaens7,0961:1,620
88Deprez7,0711:1,626
89Verbeke7,0151:1,639
90Vermeiren7,0091:1,640
91Verschueren6,9201:1,661
92Marchal6,9181:1,662
93Beckers6,8861:1,670
94Delvaux6,8851:1,670
95Legrand6,8841:1,670
96Jansen6,8601:1,676
97Wuyts6,7601:1,701
98Adam6,7511:1,703
99Simons6,6641:1,725
100Verstraeten6,6051:1,741
101Collard6,5621:1,752
102Moreau6,5591:1,753
103Verhaeghe6,5221:1,763
104Claessens6,4841:1,773
105Mahieu6,4541:1,781
106Vermeersch6,4531:1,782
107Vandamme6,4411:1,785
108Thijs6,3741:1,804
109Nijs6,3561:1,809
110Henry6,3281:1,817
111Robert6,2851:1,829
112Lefevre6,2691:1,834
113Jacques6,2141:1,850
114Pieters6,2051:1,853
115Thiry6,1951:1,856
116Heylen6,1581:1,867
117van Hoof6,1511:1,869
118de Groote6,1231:1,878
119D'Hondt6,1021:1,884
120Verhaegen6,0741:1,893
121Ceulemans6,0601:1,897
122van Dyck6,0431:1,902
123Goethals6,0421:1,903
124Lievens5,9901:1,919
125François5,9811:1,922
126Vandevelde5,9751:1,924
127Callens5,9641:1,928
128de Coster5,9581:1,930
129Noel5,9251:1,940
130van Hove5,9091:1,946
131van Hecke5,8851:1,954
132Servais5,8541:1,964
133Raes5,8421:1,968
134Bastin5,8221:1,975
135de Bruyn5,8071:1,980
136Leemans5,7921:1,985
137de Coninck5,7451:2,001
138Verbruggen5,7301:2,006
139Parmentier5,6871:2,022
140Dierckx5,6721:2,027
141Vercruysse5,6201:2,046
142Gillet5,6131:2,048
143Verhelst5,6021:2,052
144van Acker5,5941:2,055
145Roels5,5701:2,064
145Vercammen5,5701:2,064
147Hubert5,5531:2,070
148Lebrun5,5441:2,074
149Gielen5,5211:2,082
150Luyten5,5141:2,085
150Somers5,5141:2,085
152Rousseau5,4991:2,091
153Guillaume5,4931:2,093
154Cuypers5,4571:2,107
155Descamps5,4531:2,108
156Daems5,4281:2,118
157Matthys5,3941:2,131
158de Decker5,3901:2,133
159Toussaint5,3611:2,144
160Vandewalle5,3571:2,146
161Mortier5,3491:2,149
162Goffin5,3451:2,151
163Vercauteren5,3331:2,156
164Verdonck5,3321:2,156
165Herman5,3231:2,160
165Swinnen5,3231:2,160
167van den Bergh5,3151:2,163
168Smeets5,2861:2,175
169Andries5,2581:2,187
170de Bruyne5,2391:2,194
171Louis5,2381:2,195
172Collin5,2331:2,197
173van den Berghe5,2301:2,198
174Huybrechts5,1991:2,211
175Vervoort5,1801:2,219
176Peters5,1741:2,222
177de Witte5,1701:2,224
178Michaux5,1351:2,239
179Nys5,1121:2,249
180Verbeeck5,1051:2,252
181de Winter5,0781:2,264
182de Keyser5,0711:2,267
183Meert5,0611:2,272
184de Bock5,0551:2,274
185Vanneste5,0531:2,275
186Declerck5,0421:2,280
187Vos5,0341:2,284
188Antoine4,9951:2,302
189van Den Eynde4,9761:2,310
190Cornet4,9721:2,312
191Dierickx4,9401:2,327
192de Boeck4,9281:2,333
193Verhulst4,9261:2,334
194Claus4,9111:2,341
195Verheyden4,9071:2,343
196Dewulf4,9041:2,344
197van Daele4,8461:2,372
198Coenen4,8341:2,378
199de Wolf4,8331:2,379
200Moons4,8201:2,385