Guatemala Genealogy
Guide to Guatemala ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, church records, parish registers, and civil registration.
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Beginning Research | |
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Country Information[edit | edit source]
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. It was formerly a colony of Spain. The official language is Spanish.[1]
Getting Started[edit | edit source]
Getting Started with Guatemala ResearchLinks to articles on getting started with Guatemala research. |
Guatemala Research ToolsLinks to articles and websites that assist in Guatemala research. |
Finding Your Ancestors' Town in Guatemala[edit | edit source]
- Genealogical records are organized by geographical locality. Civil registration (government birth, marriage, and death records) and church records (christenings/baptisms, marriages, and burials) were kept at the local level. To search these records, you must know the town where your ancestors lived.
- If you do not know your ancestors' town, follow the advice in the Wiki article, Guatemala Finding Town of Origin, to search a variety of records that might provide that information.
Guatemala Clickable Map[edit | edit source]
Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Guatemala. Click on a department in the map for instructions and links to records for the department. By hovering over the number, you can verify the name of the department.

Departments[edit | edit source]
The largest jurisdictions in Guatemala are called 'Departments' (departamentos). These are analogous to States or Provinces in other countries. There are 22 Departments of Guatemala.
- Alta Verapaz
- Baja Verapaz
- Chimaltenango
- Chiquimula
- El Progreso
- Escuintla
- Guatemala (includes Guatemala City)
- Huehuetenango
- Izabal
- Jalapa
- Jutiapa
- Petén
- Quetzaltenango
- Quiché
- Retalhuleu
- Sacatepéquez
- San Marcos
- Santa Rosa
- Sololá
- Suchitepéquez
- Totonicapán
- Zacapa
Parishes[edit | edit source]
FamilySearch Resources[edit | edit source]
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.
- Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
- Historical Records
- Family History Center locator map
Research Tutorials[edit | edit source]
- Search page
- Introduction to Hispanic Research
- U.S. Hispanic Immigration
- U.S. Hispanic Immigrants: Finding their Place of Origin
- Improve your Search Results in FamilySearch Hispanic Records
- Deciphering Spanish Handwriting
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Guatemala," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guatemala, accessed 29 April 2016.