Switzerland Genealogical Records

Switzerland Birth & Baptism Records

Switzerland Baptism Index (1491-1940)

An index of close to 1 million records of births and baptisms, including parents' names and other details.

Switzerland Marriage & Divorce Records

Switzerland Marriage Index (1532-1910)

An index to over 265,000 marriage records, including date and place of marriage and the names of the bride and groom.

Switzerland Death & Burial Records

Jewish Online Worldwide Burial Registry (1550-Present)

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

Switzerland Burial Index (1613-1875)

An index to around 140,000 burial records from various sources. The index may contain name, age, gender, parents' names, place of burial and date of burial.

Newspapers Covering Switzerland

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.

Subject Card Index to AP Stories (1937-1985)

An index to around 500,000 Associated Press articles.

AP Stories & Newsfeatures (1937-1985)

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

Switzerland Immigration & Travel Records

Swiss Overseas Emigration (1910-1953)

This database contains registration cards of approximately 142,000 individuals who left Switzerland for overseas destinations from 1910-1953. Most of the individuals were emigrants, but some people were merely travelers. The majority of the emigrants were headed to the United States.

Jewish Arrivals in Switzerland (1938-1945)

Names and other details of over 21,000 Jews who sought refuge in Switzerland before and during WWII.

Switzerland 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.

Switzerland Cemeteries

Billion Graves (1200-Present)

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

Switzerland Histories & Books

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.

Switzerland Occupation & Business Records

Cricket Archive (1844-Present)

A database of cricket scores and players.

Pedigrees & Family Trees Covering Switzerland

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.

Switzerland 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.

Heraldry Clipart (1189-Present)

A growing collection of heraldic and related clip art that can be used to reconstruct a families' arms. Includes packs for British, German, Austrian, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Polish, Portuguese, French, Swiss and Dutch arms. Images are available in a variety of formats including vectors.

Genealogics (1400 BC-Present)

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

Switzerland 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.

Switzerland Reference Works

Heraldry Clipart (1189-Present)

A growing collection of heraldic and related clip art that can be used to reconstruct a families' arms. Includes packs for British, German, Austrian, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Polish, Portuguese, French, Swiss and Dutch arms. Images are available in a variety of formats including vectors.

Historical Description

This Central European Republic has an area of 15,950 square miles, and the population was, in 1920, 3,888,320, consisting principally of German, French and Italian speaking people, the former greatly predominating. The inhabitants are largely employed in agricultural pursuits, but the industries are also numerous, and include the manufacture of watches, (Geneva and Neuchatel), embroidery, lace, electrical machinery, water power machinery, railwas muchinery, electro-chemical products, silks, ribbons, woollens, cottons chocolate, cocoa, condensed milk, cheese, etc. The amount of trade with England has been growing steadily, the Imports amounting to £15,463,656, and the Exports to £36,996,066 in 1920. Cotton, linen and woollen manufactured goods are the chief imports from the United Kingdom. Berne, the capital, has a population of 104,626 (1920); Zurich, 207,161; Bale, 135,976 and Geneva 135,059.

The Newspaper Press Directory and Advertisers' Guide (1922)

Most Common Surnames in Switzerland

RankSurnameIncidenceFrequency
1Müller72,8781:113
2Meier51,6801:159
3Schmid44,8391:183
4Keller34,8461:236
5Weber30,3411:271
6Schneider27,4171:300
7Huber26,6911:308
8Meyer26,4901:310
9Steiner23,9701:343
10Fischer22,0971:372
11Baumann20,9071:393
12Frei20,8721:393
13Brunner20,8611:394
14Gerber20,4021:403
15Widmer20,1281:408
16Zimmermann19,5511:420
17Moser19,2061:428
18Graf18,1751:452
19Wyss17,9801:457
20Roth16,5361:497
21Suter16,2081:507
22Baumgartner15,5581:528
23Bachmann15,4821:530
24Studer15,0751:545
25Bucher14,6741:560
26Berger14,4991:566
27Kaufmann14,4731:567
28Kunz14,0401:585
29Hofer13,3571:615
30Bühler12,8991:637
31Lüthi12,6741:648
32Lehmann12,6051:652
33Marti12,5201:656
34Frey12,3841:663
35Christen12,2261:672
36Koch11,8001:696
37Egli11,0731:742
38Favre10,8201:759
39Arnold10,6731:770
40Pfister10,6481:771
41Schweizer10,3191:796
42Wüthrich10,1841:806
43Fuchs10,0741:815
44Martin9,9541:825
45Stalder9,9211:828
46Gasser9,8511:834
47Peter9,8371:835
48Kohler9,7681:841
49Maurer9,7571:842
50Koller9,7021:847
51Wenger9,6341:852
52Zürcher9,5861:857
53Burri9,3571:878
54Furrer9,1711:896
55Egger9,1271:900
56Hofmann9,1221:900
57Michel8,9511:918
58Hunziker8,9301:920
59Leuenberger8,9211:921
60Bieri8,7891:934
61Ammann8,6721:947
62Vogel8,4701:970
63Hug8,4661:970
64Hess8,3681:981
65Tanner8,2041:1,001
66Sutter8,1961:1,002
67Hauser8,1711:1,005
68Blaser8,1161:1,012
69Rüegg8,0601:1,019
70Hartmann7,6801:1,069
71Schuler7,4861:1,097
72Rey7,3511:1,117
72Wagner7,3511:1,117
74Gisler7,2831:1,128
75Senn7,2801:1,128
76Zbinden7,2551:1,132
77Kälin7,2121:1,139
78Schär7,1251:1,153
79Siegenthaler7,0601:1,163
80Scherrer7,0331:1,168
81Flückiger6,9961:1,174
82Lang6,8661:1,196
83Zaugg6,7871:1,210
84Fankhauser6,7191:1,222
85Stucki6,6721:1,231
86Kuhn6,5651:1,251
87Imhof6,5451:1,255
88Vogt6,5311:1,258
89Bernasconi6,5111:1,261
90Scheidegger6,4621:1,271
91Odermatt6,4361:1,276
92Portmann6,4021:1,283
93Küng6,3861:1,286
94Sommer6,3701:1,289
95Seiler6,3101:1,302
96Ackermann6,2981:1,304
97Liechti6,2641:1,311
98Jost6,2411:1,316
99Schmidt6,2171:1,321
100Schumacher6,1421:1,337
101Schärer6,1171:1,343
102Schwarz6,0501:1,358
103Stocker6,0441:1,359
104Staub6,0381:1,360
105Giger6,0271:1,363
106Hasler5,9981:1,369
107Rochat5,9951:1,370
108Schenk5,9941:1,370
109Lüscher5,8351:1,408
110Weiss5,7601:1,426
111Gloor5,7351:1,432
112Herzog5,7131:1,438
113Hofstetter5,7101:1,438
114Schwab5,6781:1,446
115Zehnder5,6591:1,451
116Stutz5,6481:1,454
117Pittet5,5751:1,473
118Rohner5,5341:1,484
119Weibel5,5271:1,486
120Schnyder5,4911:1,496
121Bosshard5,4611:1,504
122Wittwer5,4361:1,511
123Eichenberger5,4301:1,513
124Steiger5,3431:1,537
125Haas5,2821:1,555
126Schaller5,2771:1,556
127Stadelmann5,2561:1,563
128Rohrer5,1981:1,580
129Stettler5,1921:1,582
130Bolliger5,1401:1,598
131Stöckli5,1211:1,604
132Tobler5,1121:1,607
133Siegrist5,0931:1,613
134Sieber5,0921:1,613
135Wolf5,0621:1,622
136Sigrist5,0561:1,624
137Meister5,0511:1,626
138Marty5,0361:1,631
139Ulrich5,0181:1,637
140Lutz4,9521:1,659
141Lanz4,9451:1,661
142Blanc4,9431:1,662
143Röthlisberger4,9421:1,662
144Grob4,8971:1,677
145Kaiser4,8931:1,679
146Steffen4,8491:1,694
147Betschart4,8431:1,696
148Locher4,8411:1,697
149Beck4,8391:1,697
150Aeschlimann4,8071:1,709
151Blum4,7991:1,711
152Bühlmann4,7951:1,713
153Probst4,7821:1,717
154Mathys4,7741:1,720
155Rossi4,7731:1,721
156Schmutz4,7591:1,726
157Kessler4,7251:1,738
158Kuster4,7111:1,743
159Häfliger4,6881:1,752
160Muller4,6721:1,758
161Steinmann4,6641:1,761
162Stauffer4,6481:1,767
163Haller4,6391:1,770
164Graber4,6071:1,783
165Krebs4,5741:1,796
166Walker4,5711:1,797
167Ziegler4,5391:1,809
168Nussbaumer4,5091:1,821
169Benz4,4911:1,829
170Jenni4,4721:1,837
171Friedli4,4581:1,842
172Käser4,4301:1,854
173Bischof4,3781:1,876
174Fässler4,3611:1,883
175Aebi4,3471:1,889
175Hostettler4,3471:1,889
177Richard4,3361:1,894
178Hürlimann4,3171:1,902
179Zwahlen4,3161:1,903
180Knecht4,3041:1,908
180Schaub4,3041:1,908
182Wehrli4,2981:1,911
183Eugster4,2971:1,911
184Mäder4,2821:1,918
185Walther4,2811:1,918
186Ott4,2401:1,937
187Flury4,2321:1,941
188Brügger4,2261:1,943
189Rossier4,2251:1,944
190Willi4,2231:1,945
191Erni4,2011:1,955
192Ryser4,1881:1,961
193Gut4,1521:1,978
193Wicki4,1521:1,978
195Reber4,1331:1,987
196Merz4,1071:2,000
197Thalmann4,0941:2,006
198Mettler4,0711:2,017
199Wirth4,0671:2,019
200Iten4,0641:2,021