Hungary Genealogy

Europe HungaryGuide to Hungary ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Country Information
Hungary is a country in Central Europe bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. From the eighteenth century to World War I it belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The official language is Hungarian. The lands of Hungary contributed great numbers of people to the waves of European Emigration from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s. These were not just Hungarians, but also Romanians, Germans, Jews, Slovaks, Ukrainians, Serbs, and Croats. Many settled in the United States, Canada, and Australia where, generations later, their descendants now begin the task of seeking their Hungarian heritage.

Family History Library Collection
The Family History Library has an excellent collection of records from the present-day Hungary and Slovakia. Some of these rolls are available for immediate access at the Family History Library, including: Jewish records for all areas, Church records of Slovakia, and Church records of the city of Budapest. Many other microfilms can be obtained within 24 hours at the Family History Library. Others can be ordered within a few days. If you are visiting the library in Salt Lake City we recommend you order microfilms at least a month before you come. You can also order and use Hungarian microfilms at any of the many family history centers. These records are written in Latin, Hungarian, and German. Some records of minority groups are written in Serbian, Slovak, Croatian, old Church Slavonic, Hebrew, and Romanian. The library has genealogical word lists in German, Latin, and Hungarian to help you in reading these records.



Historic Counties of Hungary

 * Abaúj-Torna --now split between Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hungary, and Košice Region, Slovakia.
 * Arad--In 1920, Most went to Romania—small southern part wen to Békés.
 * Bács-Bodrog--In 1918, Northern 15% went to Bács-Kiskun, 85% went to Yugoslavia
 * Bars--Became Tekov County, Slovakia
 * Bihar--now mostly in northwestern Romania (as Bihor County), and a smaller part in eastern Hungary.

In 1918/19, about 75% of Bihar county became part of Romania. The west of the county remained in Hungary. The Romanian part of former Bihar County now forms the Romanian Bihor County, except the southernmost part (around Beliu), which is in Arad County, Romania. After World War II, the Hungarian county Bihar was merged with Hajdú County to form Hajdú-Bihar county. The southernmost part of Hungarian Bihar (the area around Sarkad and Okány went to Békés County.

Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in resourcing your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records
 * Family History Center locator map