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    • Main contributor: Craig Kanalley
    Old map of France
    An old map depicting the various departments of France.

    French census records are surveys of the population conducted by the government that contain valuable information for genealogical research. The first nationwide census documenting the names of all residents of France, with the exception of those living in Paris, took place in 1836. The first census for the city of Paris took place 90 years later in 1926.[1]

    These census records are vital for family historians as they were rich with information like names, relationships, occupations, ages, birth places, residences and nationalities. They are generally housed by the archives of the French department that recorded each census and may be digitally available online. Millions of French census records are indexed at MyHeritage.

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    History of French census records

    While local census records in France date back to the 1500s, mostly for taxation purposes, and Napoleon ordered a population count in 1801, the first national census to contain an accounting of all residents' names (except Parisians) took place in 1836.

    french during franco-prussian-war
    French soldiers are treated at Metz during the Franco-Prussian War. The conflict delayed the national census until 1872.

    The standardization of the 1836 national census was done in part due to the failure of the 1831 census – little organization, lack of preservation, and inconsistent questioning from location to location.[2] This all changed with the 1836 census. From that point forward, a standardized census was conducted every 5 years until 1936 with the exception of 1871 (Franco-Prussian War) and 1916 (World War I). A special census was conducted in 1872 in place of the 1871.

    For censuses between 1836-1936, you can expect to find given name, surname, occupation, age and marital status for each resident on nearly all the surveys. Exact addresses and nationality are provided on some censuses, beginning with 1851. The 1851 census also specifies religion for each resident, as well as disabilities and illnesses. The 1872 and 1876 censuses provide place of birth.

    Censuses were less frequent in France after World War II, taking place in 1946, 1954, 1962, 1968, 1975, 1982, 1990 and 1999.[3] The 1946 census has not been fully digitized and the more recent ones are not available to the public due to privacy restrictions. France has conducted an annual population census since 2004.[4]

    How to access French census records

    Paris in 1931
    Paris in 1931, one of the years a census documented all residents of the city.

    MyHeritage has many sets of French census records indexed and available to search, including these largest collections:

    In addition, here are French census records on MyHeritage for smaller territories and departments:

    Alternatively, census records in France can be found by department website. Today there are 100 departments in France and you need to know which department your town, village or city of interest is located in to find the census records. Then you navigate to the department's archive website to see if the records are available online – in many cases they are digitized and online. For example, if you have family in Bas-Rhin, Alsace, you can find census records back to 1836 available through digitized images at the Archives d'Alsace. The Seine-et-Marne department has digitized pre-1911 census records, sorted by municipality. For other departments, consult the relevant archive website.

    See also

    Explore more about French census records

    References

    1. ↑ "Sources généalogiques complémentaires - Recensement de population - Archives de Paris". archives.paris.fr. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
    2. ↑ The Problematic 1831 Census, The French Genealogy Blog by Anne Morddel.https://french-genealogy.typepad.com/genealogie/2021/01/the-problematic-1831-census.html
    3. ↑ "Population censuses". Archives départementales de Seine-et-Marne (in français). 2024-06-10. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
    4. ↑ "Population census | Insee". www.insee.fr. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
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