Getting you started
Visit our helpful Regions and Counties section to find our more about undertaking family history research within each of the ancient counties.
This section will guide you through the essential first few steps of researching your Scottish ancestry, including talking to your existing family and searching using AncestralScotland.com’s clan search and ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk, the official source of genealogical data for Scotland.
- Clan Search »
- Scotlands Resources »
- 1881 Census Search »
- Where did my ancestors live? »
- Your journey starts with you »
Clan Search
Our clan search will give you an initial idea of where your family may have come from. Try putting your own surname into the search to see if it matches with any clans. If this doesn’t work, all is not lost! The next step is to try each generation (on the side of your family that you know had Scottish links) back in turn to see whether they match. Once you find a matching clan you will find information relating to the clan that your family may have been related to.Many clans are associated with distinctive geographical areas of Scotland and each has one or more tartans relating to it. Our clan search will tell you all of this, as well as information on your clan’s proud history and its motto. And for 40 of the most common clans there are also special touring itineraries that will help you walk in your clan ancestors' footsteps when you visit Scotland.
Scotlands Resources
Retracing the footsteps of your ancestors can help bring the past alive and Scotland's vast array of rich genealogy resources are there to help you. Visit one of Scotland's family history centers, local registrars offices or historical buildings where you can access birth, death and marriage records as well as many other fascinating archives. Receive a friendly welcome from one of the local experts and ask them any questions you may have. Come and experience the history first hand!
1881 Census Search
Retracing the footsteps of your ancestors can help bring the past alive and Scotland's vast array of rich genealogy resources are there to help you. Visit one of Scotland's family history centers, local registrars offices or historical buildings where you can access birth, death and marriage records as well as many other fascinating archives. Receive a friendly welcome from one of the local experts and ask them any questions you may have. Come and experience the history first hand!
Where did my ancestors live?
Look out for place names in your family records, or in the recollections of older family members. If you are lucky enough to find an old county name you can take a look at the Regions and Counties section of this site, which includes detailed information about each of Scotland’s historic Counties. You’ll find, for example, the locations of local libraries and archives, how to contact the local family history society and information about places to visit when you make your ancestral journey to Scotland.Your journey starts with you
Write down your name and date and place of birth. This is the start of your family tree. Now add your husband or wife and your date and place of marriage. Next add your children, your brothers and sisters, parents and so on. You’ll be surprised how much information you have already.
Gather together old photographs, letters and other documents. And don’t forget to talk to elderly relatives. Creating a family tree – the births, marriages and deaths that form the punctuation marks in every family’s story – is only part of the process. To really understand your Scottish ancestry you need to learn about the places your ancestors lived and their way of life.
This is where AncestralScotland.com can really start to help.
