Genealogy in Dordogne: Are you looking for your ancestors?

Genealogy antisèche - Find your ancestors in Dordogne with this genealogy antics: archives, online acts, cards and postcards, useful sites….

Genealogy in Dordogne: Are you looking for your ancestors?

©️Wikimedia - Daudrix

Update: May 29, 2024


The Dordogne department is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is bordering on the departments of Haute-Vienne, from the Corrèze, of Batch, of Batch-et-Garonne, from the Gironde, from the Charente-Maritime and Charente.

The Dordogne department was created in 1790 at the French Revolution. It takes its name from the river which crosses it. 

The region is known for its prehistoric caves, medieval castles and picturesque villages. The history of the Dordogne dates back to prehistory, with sites such as the Lascaux cave and the Rouffignac cave.



📜 The archives of the Dordogne


Dordogne departmental archives: a gold mine for genealogists


Go to the Dordogne departmental archives:

📍 9 rue Littré, 24000 Périgueux


Contact the Dordogne Departmental Archives:

📞  05 53 03 33 33

📧  Email



The online archives of the Dordogne AD


Browse the archives of Ad de Dordogne Looking for your ancestors: 



Online acts 




Unusual acts


  • The way for making corner water, a violent hurricane and a wolf appetite on the J. Marchal site.



🧳 Les migrations en Dordogne


  • Prehistoric and ancient period : Since the first inhabitants of the Dordogne date back to the Paleolithic, the land of Périgord and more particularly the Valley of Vézère now retain the largest number of prehistoric sites discovered to date. More than 15 sites (caves, troglodyte sites, deposits ...) are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Famous sites like the Lascaux and Font-de-Game caves shelter spectacular rock paintings.

    The region was occupied by the Gauls Pétrocores in the 2nd century BC, then joined by populations of various origins. Much later, the Romans will settle in Périgord and leave their traces in cities like Vesunna and Sarlat. 


  • Middle Ages : Périgord is invaded by Germanic barbarians (Visigoths, Francs) in the 5th and life. The region will long be disputed by the Merovingian kings before being part of the Kingdom of Toulouse in 630, on which the Dukes of Aquitaine reigned. Many castles and abbeys will be built at that time. 

    During the a hundred and 14th century war, the region will see populations in northern Europe (Normans, English).


  • Modern period : Béarnais migrants, Gascons and Basques will settle in Périgord in the 17th and 18th centuries to work in agriculture and crafts. At the same time, Protestant refugees arrived in the region after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.

    In the 18th century and during the French Revolution, the department welcomed many refugees fleeing violence in cities like Bordeaux. Other populations, from Limousin or Auvergne for example, also settle there to work in paper factories and crafts. 

    In the 19th century, many seasonal workers in poorer regions (Creuse, Corrèze) will settle in the region to take advantage of major infrastructure works. At the same time, a Spanish community, fleeing the Carlist conflicts) will settle in the 1830s in Brantôme. 

    In the 20th century, Italians settled in the region to work in agriculture, while Spanish refugees fleeing Francoism in 1939 will settle in camps like that of Boulazac. The region then experienced progressive economic immigration from the Maghreb, Spain and Portugal, after the Second World War. Then, the 1990s will be marked by the arrival of seasonal workers from Eastern Europe to work in fruit crops and syviculture.


To find out more:



🎞️ The Dordogne in pictures


Videos




Les images et cartes postales anciennes 




Les cartes anciennes du department 


  • Des villages de Cassini aux communes d’aujourd’hui : le department de la Dordogne
  • Sur Old Maps Online : les cartes anciennes du department
  • Sur Gallica : les cartes anciennes de la Dordogne



📖 The history of the Dordogne




Sur Gallica : les books and the press pour tout savoir sur le department de la Dordogne



💬 The 50 names most worn in Dordogne


Top 10 surnames in Dordogne: 

  • Faure
  • Marty
  • Dupuy
  • Delating
  • Lacoste
  • Besse
  • Lagarde
  • LITTLE
  • Dumas
  • Lacombe


les 40 autres noms de famille les plus populaires dans le department (d'après le INSEE file): 

  • Durand
  • Boyer
  • Dubois
  • Lavud
  • CAP
  • Mazeau
  • Gauthier
  • Labrousse
  • Guy
  • Lafon
  • Maury
  • Robert
  • Moreau
  • Lachaud
  • Rey
  • Bernard
  • Laval
  • Martin
  • Maziere
  • Lasse
  • Magne
  • Raynaud
  • ROCK
  • Rousseau
  • Edge
  • REDHEAD
  • Redhead
  • Lafaye
  • Fournier
  • Vigier
  • BUSH
  • Mathieu
  • Rebiare
  • Garrigue
  • Delmas
  • Delbos
  • Bouyssou
  • Guichard
  • Brake
  • Dubreuil


🖥️ Genealogy sites in Dordogne


Les cercles et associations de généalogie en Dordogne et alentours




Les blogs de généalogie en Dordogne




Useful social networks




Bonnes recherches ! 


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