Jamaica Genealogical Records

Jamaica Birth & Baptism Records

Jamaica Civil Registration Records (1880-1999)

An index to and images of records of births, marriages and deaths, recording various personal and genealogical details.

Jamaica Birth & Baptism Index (1752-1920)

An index to over 330,000 birth and baptism records, listing parents' names.

Jamaica Anglican Parish Register Transcripts (1664-1880)

Transcripts of over 360,000 baptisms, marriages and burials kept by the Church of England in Jamaica. Records include names or parents, residences, occupations and more.

British Nationals Born Overseas (1818-2006)

An index to births of British citizens born overseas that were registered with the British Consul or High Commissioner. Provides a reference that can be used to order a birth certificate.

Caribbean Births & Baptisms (1590-1928)

An index to around 450,000 mixed birth and baptism records.

Jamaica Marriage & Divorce Records

Jamaica Civil Registration Records (1880-1999)

An index to and images of records of births, marriages and deaths, recording various personal and genealogical details.

Jamaica Anglican Parish Register Transcripts (1664-1880)

Transcripts of over 360,000 baptisms, marriages and burials kept by the Church of England in Jamaica. Records include names or parents, residences, occupations and more.

British Nationals Married Overseas (1818-2005)

An index to marriages of British citizens overseas that were registered with the British Consul or High Commissioner Provides a reference that can be used to order a marriage certificate.

Caribbean Marriage Index (1591-1905)

An index to around 90,000 marriage records from various sources.

Jamaica Death & Burial Records

Jamaica Civil Registration Records (1880-1999)

An index to and images of records of births, marriages and deaths, recording various personal and genealogical details.

Jamaica Anglican Parish Register Transcripts (1664-1880)

Transcripts of over 360,000 baptisms, marriages and burials kept by the Church of England in Jamaica. Records include names or parents, residences, occupations and more.

Jewish Online Worldwide Burial Registry (1550-Present)

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

British Nationals Overseas Deaths (1818-2005)

A name index linked to original indices of British citizens who died overseas. Records record the area in which the deceased died and their age.

Caribbean Death & Burial Index (1790-1906)

An index of around 6,000 death records. The index may include names of relatives and details of the death.

Jamaica Census & Population Lists

Slave Registers of British Colonial Dependencies (1813-1834)

Digital images, searchable by an index of almost three million names, recording lawfully-kept slaves in British dominions. They record a slave's name, place of residence, age, gender, nationality and their owner's name.

Newspapers Covering Jamaica

Newspaper Archive: Jamaica (1834-Present)

Text-searchable copies of millions of Jamaican newspaper articles.

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.

Jamaica Wills & Probate Records

British Inheritance Disputes Index (1574-1714)

An index to almost 78,000 wills that were disputed. The index can lead you to documents that may shed a great deal of genealogical information as disputes often arose between siblings and cousins.

Jamaica Immigration & Travel Records

Middlesex Convict Transportation Contracts (1682-1787)

Orders to remove convicts from Middlesex and deport them to penal colonies.

Naturalizations in America & the West Indies (1740-1782)

Early records granting citizenship to largely Protestant individuals in Britain's American dominions.

Derbyshire Transportation Index (1720-1772)

A calendar to records detailing the transportation of people from Derbyshire to parts of the British Empire.

Devonians in the Colonies (1900-1901)

An index to records detailing the ancestry of some 300 people of Devonian descent living in British colonies and the Unite States.

Jamaica Military Records

WWI Commonwealth Casualty Lists (1914-1920)

A list of over 1.3 million British and Commonwealth servicemen who were injured during World War One.

Prisoners of War (1715-1945)

An index to and images records detailing the incarceration of 1.34 million military personnel, civilians, diplomats, missionaries & merchant seamen who were held as prisoners of war. The records cover British prisoners held by foreign powers and non-British prisoners held by Britain.

WWI British Prisoner of War Records (1914-1918)

Records of over 80,000 British and Commonwealth men captured during the Great War.

Slave Registers of British Colonial Dependencies (1813-1834)

Digital images, searchable by an index of almost three million names, recording lawfully-kept slaves in British dominions. They record a slave's name, place of residence, age, gender, nationality and their owner's name.

Middlesex Convict Transportation Contracts (1682-1787)

Orders to remove convicts from Middlesex and deport them to penal colonies.

British Inheritance Disputes Index (1574-1714)

An index to almost 78,000 wills that were disputed. The index can lead you to documents that may shed a great deal of genealogical information as disputes often arose between siblings and cousins.

Calendar of State Papers Colonial (1513-1739)

Calendars to records relating to British colonies.

Key West Admiralty Records (1829-1911)

These records cover prize, ransom, and salvage cases; suits to establish title to a ship independent of possession of the ship; possessory actions to recover ships; and a variety of maritime contracts and torts.

Jamaica Directories & Gazetteers

Thom's Official Directory of Great Britain & Ireland (1914)

A directory of the court, parliament, aristocracy, mayors, civil service, military, militia and banks in the British Empire.

The American Gazetteer (1798)

One of the earliest attempt to form a comprehensive dictionary of places in The Americas.

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.

Jamaica Cemeteries

Billion Graves (1200-Present)

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

Jamaica Histories & Books

The American Gazetteer (1798)

One of the earliest attempt to form a comprehensive dictionary of places in The Americas.

Ancestry Member Stories (6000 BC-Present)

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

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.

Colonial Office List (1870)

A searchable book containing descriptions of British colonies, statistics, information on officials and more.

Colonial Office List (1863)

A searchable book containing descriptions of British colonies, statistics, information on officials and more.

Jamaica Occupation & Business Records

Slave Registers of British Colonial Dependencies (1813-1834)

Digital images, searchable by an index of almost three million names, recording lawfully-kept slaves in British dominions. They record a slave's name, place of residence, age, gender, nationality and their owner's name.

Crockford's Clerical Directories (1868-1914)

Brief biographies of Anglican clergy in the UK.

Slave Voyages Database (1514-1866)

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database has information on more than 35,000 slave voyages that forcibly embarked over 12 million Africans for transport to the Americas between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Newspaper Press Directory (1927)

A directory describing newspapers in the UK and British Empire, including circulation and political leaning.

Newspaper Press Directory (1913)

A directory describing newspapers in the UK and British Empire, including circulation and political leaning.

Pedigrees & Family Trees Covering Jamaica

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.

Ancestry World Tree (6000 BC-1997)

A collection of legacy trees submitted by Ancestry users containing nearly 400 million individuals.

Jamaica Royalty, Nobility & Heraldry Records

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.

Jamaica Church Records

Crockford's Clerical Directories (1868-1914)

Brief biographies of Anglican clergy in the UK.

Jamaica Anglican Parish Register Transcripts (1664-1880)

Transcripts of over 360,000 baptisms, marriages and burials kept by the Church of England in Jamaica. Records include names or parents, residences, occupations and more.

Crockford's Clerical Directory (1929)

A directory listing Anglican parishes and other divisions of the Church or England hierarchy and their various religious officers. The directory covers the UK and Anglican churches throughout the world.

Biographical Directories Covering Jamaica

Crockford's Clerical Directories (1868-1914)

Brief biographies of Anglican clergy in the UK.

Jamaica 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

Jamaica is almost as large as Boriquen: it is extreamly troubled with such terrible gusts of Wind, that nothing can resist them, turning up Trees, and over-turning Houses, transporting Ships from Sea to Land with a terrible confusion. The Inhabitants here are of quicker wits than the other Islands.

A Geographical Description of the World (1671) by George Meriton

Most Common Surnames in Jamaica

RankSurnameIncidenceFrequency
1Brown69,3871:41
2Williams62,7541:46
3Smith46,7851:61
4Campbell41,3221:69
5Johnson38,7661:74
6Thompson31,5571:91
7Clarke29,6341:97
8Thomas27,6691:104
9Henry26,4711:108
10Reid26,1171:110
11Gordon25,3351:113
12Robinson22,9001:125
13Grant22,6761:127
14Francis20,9661:137
15Edwards20,3591:141
16Lewis19,8971:144
17Wilson19,6531:146
18Davis19,4301:148
19Anderson19,3531:148
20Wright18,8781:152
21Stewart17,6991:162
22Miller16,8881:170
23Walker16,5171:174
24James16,4171:175
25Morgan16,2471:177
26Bailey16,1671:178
27Taylor16,0201:179
28Richards15,9171:180
29Allen15,8951:181
30Powell15,4561:186
31Jones15,0571:191
32Green14,7551:195
33McKenzie14,4291:199
34White13,9241:206
35Jackson13,0821:219
36Scott12,8071:224
37Hall12,7261:226
38Graham12,6541:227
39Gayle12,5911:228
40Watson12,3911:232
41Bennett12,1481:236
42Lawrence11,9621:240
43Palmer11,9161:241
43Simpson11,9161:241
45Samuels11,1061:258
46Hamilton11,0911:259
47Dixon11,0611:259
48Barrett10,8511:264
49Daley10,7691:267
50Morris10,7351:267
51Nelson10,6541:269
52Martin10,3981:276
53Blake10,2691:279
54Douglas10,1531:283
55Mitchell9,4921:302
55Walters9,4921:302
57Harris9,4361:304
58Bryan9,3901:306
59McDonald9,3851:306
60Chambers9,3201:308
61Foster8,7811:327
62Morrison8,7251:329
63Ellis8,6911:330
64Beckford8,6891:330
65Rose8,5001:338
66Spence8,1941:350
67Murray8,0571:356
68McLean7,6831:374
69Lee7,5611:380
70Forbes7,2461:396
71Rowe7,1691:400
72Wallace7,1481:402
73McFarlane7,0621:406
74Young7,0281:408
75Chin6,9151:415
76Shaw6,9041:416
77Salmon6,8091:421
78Russell6,7821:423
79Sinclair6,6991:428
80Ricketts6,3651:451
81Malcolm6,2251:461
82Dennis6,1451:467
83Whyte6,0981:471
84Roberts6,0011:478
85Brooks5,9801:480
86Gray5,7141:502
87Kelly5,7061:503
88Harrison5,6291:510
89Mullings5,5861:514
90Phillips5,5851:514
91Burke5,4791:524
92Spencer5,3431:537
93McIntosh5,3391:538
94Ferguson5,3171:540
95Stephenson5,3121:540
96Dawkins5,2721:544
97Baker5,1511:557
98Hylton5,1501:557
99Evans5,0671:566
100Cole5,0581:567
101Pinnock4,9341:582
102Bernard4,9121:584
103Cunningham4,8931:587
104Kerr4,8851:588
105Patterson4,8661:590
106Hutchinson4,8201:595
107Blackwood4,7801:600
108McLeod4,7441:605
109Reynolds4,6731:614
110Cameron4,6471:618
111Barnes4,6431:618
112Bell4,6381:619
113Moore4,5701:628
114Christie4,5611:629
115Duncan4,5081:637
116Peart4,4921:639
117Levy4,4231:649
118Harvey4,4201:649
119Tomlinson4,3951:653
120Black4,3881:654
121Blair4,3751:656
122Knight4,3371:662
123Barnett4,3001:667
124Buchanan4,2551:674
125Sterling4,2381:677
126King4,1961:684
127Swaby4,1911:685
128Hibbert4,1241:696
129Marshall4,1231:696
130Lindsay4,1111:698
131Dunkley4,1061:699
132Hanson4,0891:702
132Jarrett4,0891:702
134Griffiths4,0651:706
135McPherson4,0181:714
136Williamson3,9921:719
137Pryce3,9521:726
138Hunter3,9381:729
139Hinds3,9361:729
140Haughton3,9061:735
141Lindo3,8981:736
142Bent3,8361:748
143Mills3,7401:767
144Davidson3,7251:770
145Holness3,7201:771
146Small3,7171:772
147Riley3,6951:777
148Myers3,6871:778
149Gooden3,5641:805
149Wynter3,5641:805
151Fearon3,5351:812
152Simms3,5161:816
153Sutherland3,4791:825
154Hill3,4451:833
155Farquharson3,4301:837
156Burton3,3681:852
157Scarlett3,3661:853
158Howell3,3441:858
159Turner3,3431:858
160Bartley3,3101:867
161Fraser3,2901:872
162Lynch3,2651:879
163Nembhard3,2561:881
164Ebanks3,2521:883
165Rhoden3,2031:896
166Cooper3,1861:901
167Ramsay3,1791:903
168Chung3,1721:905
169Stephens3,1491:911
170Plummer3,1421:913
171Facey3,1371:915
172Crawford3,1131:922
173Elliott3,1021:925
174Vassell3,0691:935
175Leslie3,0191:951
176Tulloch2,9731:965
177Dyer2,9311:979
178Matthews2,9241:982
179Lawson2,9211:983
180Bowen2,9191:983
181Burrell2,8991:990
182Atkinson2,8961:991
183Forrester2,8911:993
184Grey2,8901:993
185Linton2,8891:993
186Dacosta2,8531:1,006
187Fletcher2,7971:1,026
188Collins2,7761:1,034
189Carter2,7671:1,037
190Alexander2,7531:1,042
190Boothe2,7531:1,042
192Maxwell2,7501:1,044
193Hines2,7471:1,045
194Hudson2,6991:1,063
195Hewitt2,6811:1,070
196Porter2,6731:1,074
197Rodney2,6521:1,082
198Parchment2,6341:1,090
199Wellington2,6311:1,091
200Drummond2,6111:1,099