Spain Baptisms

The spanish word for baptisms is bautismos.

Uses
Use baptismal records to:


 * Find birth information for most persons who lived in Spain.
 * Verify the birth place of an ancestor.
 * Establish a time and place of a family’s residence.

If you don’t find your ancestor’s birth record in one parish, look in nearby or other likely parishes. You may also want to expand the years searched in the event that the birth year you have or were given is incorrect.

Baptism and birth information are usually on the same record. The Spanish word bautismo is the word for baptism. Before civil registration started it was also the birth record of the child.

Content
Baptism records usually contain the following information:


 * Infant’s place and date of baptism
 * Age at time of baptism, usually given in days, which helps determine the birth date.
 * Child’s names
 * Status of legitimacy
 * Parents’ names and possibly their birth places and places of residence
 * Godparents’ names and possibly their places of residence
 * You might also find the names of grandparents.

Tips

 * Most children were baptized within a few days of birth but don’t give up after a few days as on rare occasions they might have waited several months.
 * Write down the names and residences of the godparents and witnesses. These may be relatives, friends, or important members of the community whose names may lead you to other relatives.

Before you begin Before searching for a baptism record, you must know:


 * Your ancestor’s name
 * The parish and town/city of birth or residence
 * The approximate birth date
 * The names of at least one parent Note: If there is more than one person in the parish with the same name as your ancestor, parents’ names will help you to determine which one is your ancestor.

Locating Records
To learn more about locating Spain Catholic Church Records Please see the article Finding Records

FamilySearch
Millions of names can be found in the Spain online collections of FamilySearch

Spain, Baptisms, 1502-1940 No images are available, Search by name only.

Spain, Marriages, 1565-1950 No images are available, Search by name only.

Spain Deaths, 1600-1920 No images are available, Search by name only.

Spain, Catholic Church Records, 1500-1930 Browsable images. To use you must first choose the province, then the city, then the record type you wish to view.

More parish records can be found on FamilySearch under the name of the diocese. To use these records, choose the province, click on Browse Images, or enter a name if a search engine is available. If no search engine is available, click on Browse Record, then choose the town, then the parish, and then the record type you wish to view. Records are available for the following:

Spain, Diocese of Albacete, Catholic Church Records, 1504-1979

Spain, Diocese of Ávila, Catholic Church Records, 1502-1975 Indexed records and browseable images.

Spain, Diocese of Lugo, Catholic Parish Records, 1550-1930 Indexed records only

Spain, Diocese of Santander, Catholic Church Records, 1538-1984 Browseable images.

Spain, Diocese of Segovia, Catholic Church Records, 1533-1987 Browseable images.

Other online sites
Online parish indexes for País Vasco can be found at the site Dokuklik

To view the separate sites of each province of País Vasco, click on the name of the province below.


 * Alava Archivo Histórico Diocesano in Vitoria.
 * Guipúzcoa Archivo Histórico Diocesano in San Sebastián.
 * Vizcaya Archivo Histórico Diocesano in Bilbao

In Tarragona, the archdiocese is currently digitizing parish books and many can be found at the online site Arxiu Històric Arxidiocesà de Tarragona. To view the images, you must register for a free account. For more information about how to use the site please read the article Archdiocese of Tarragona Online Parish Records.

Translation helps

 * Spanish Genealogical Word List
 * Google Translate
 * A good Spanish-English dictionary

Handwriting helps

 * Handwriting Guide: Spanish
 * Script Tutorials
 * Online classes from FamilySearch