The Latvian Surname Project has been updated! The Surname Project has 153 new names, including BÄ’RZLAPA and MIEŽUVÄ€RPA. That brings the total number of surnames in the project so far to 521! I’m afraid I don’t have a Record Project
Surname Saturday – Time for Dinner!
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
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
Project Updates – January 21, 2010
The Latvian Record Project and the Latvian Surname Project have been updated! The Surname Project has 61 new names, including LAPSA and DZĒRVE. The Record Project has 1075 new records, including Limbaži baptisms 1900-1905, Lēdurga baptisms 1900, Limbaži marriages 1900-1905,
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
Surname Saturday – Radziņš
Today I’m featuring one of the new surnames I’ve discovered in my family tree – Radziņš (feminine form Radziņa, the surname of one of my great-great-grandmothers. Marija Radziņa was born on November 16, 1856. I am not sure yet where
First Day at the Archives
So I have arrived in Latvia, and today I made my first trip to the Latvian State Historical Archives. And I may have already found something! Since it takes them a few days to find and bring out the requested
Surname Saturday – Baburs
Participating in my first Geneabloggers daily blogging theme – Surname Saturday! The surname up this week is Baburs. The most recent ancestor I have with this name is Karolīne Matilde Baburs, born in Riga and baptized in the Church of
Families Unknown
When doing your research, have you ever come across a family – not your own – that appears to have a story to tell, and you want to find out what that story is? This has happened to me while
The Big Three
BÄ“rziņš, Kalniņš, Ozoliņš – these are what I call the “big three”. They are the most common Latvian surnames. With these names more than any others it is imperative that you know where your ancestor was from. But what do