Genealogy in Alpes-Maritimes (06): Archives and Family History

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Genealogy in Alpes-Maritimes (06): Archives and Family History

©️Wikimedia - Claude Villetaneuse

updated: January 8, 2026


Alpes-Maritimes is this little paradise between the Mediterranean Sea and snow-capped peaks, where cosmopolitan Nice is surrounded by perched villages born from Saracen raids, a department carved out of Franco-Italian history that has been overflowing with energy since its attachment in 1860. For us, genealogists, it's a delicious puzzle: Italian families on one side of the Var, Provençals on the other, plus a influx of tourists and workers that has mixed origins like nowhere else.​

Created in 1793 and definitively French after the Treaty of Turin in 1860, this department was born from the County of Nice (Savoyard since the 12th century) and part of the Var, with Nice as its beating heart since the Phocaean Antiquity. Ligurians, Romans, Saracens, Counts of Provence and Dukes of Savoy succeeded each other, leaving perched villages (Èze, Gourdon) born from invasions and a coast urbanized by English tourism since the 18th century.

Alpes-Maritimes is bordered by the Var, the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence , Italy, and the Mediterranean Sea. ​

 


📜 The archives of the Alpes-Maritimes



 

Online records

 


🧳 Migrations in the Alpes-Maritimes


  • Before 1800 : residents moved little, mainly between Nice, Menton, and perched villages. Merchants traveled between Genoa, Marseille, and Piedmont. Parish registers show births and marriages within a few kilometers.​


  • 19th century : Italians from Piedmont and Lombardy arrived to work in factories (oil, flowers, chemistry). The English and Russians developed tourism. Many mixed marriages appear in the Nice registers.​


  • 1900-1945 : World War I brought hospitals. The Italian occupation (1942) and bombings displaced families. Piedmontese Jews took refuge in the valleys. Archives show cross-border families.​


  • 1945-1980 : Reconstruction attracted Poles and Armenians. Algerians arrived after 1954 for construction. Nice and Cannes developed. 


  • Since 1980 : Tourism and Sophia Antipolis attract Europeans, Maghrebis, Africans, and Asians. Villages lose residents who move to Nice.


For more information:

 

 

🏔️ The Alpes-Maritimes in pictures


Videos

 

Old images and postcards

 

Old maps of the department

 


📄 The History of the Alpes-Maritimes


 

On Gallica: the books, the press and the manuscripts to learn everything about the Alpes-Maritimes department



🏠 The 50 most common surnames in the Alpes-Maritimes


Top 10 of the most common surnames in the Alpes-Maritimes: 

  • MARTIN
  • DALMASSO
  • ROUX
  • ROSSI
  • GIORDANO
  • LANTERI
  • VIALE
  • BLANC
  • MICHEL
  • FARAUT


The other 40 most popular surnames in the department (according to the INSEE File) : 

  • BRUN
  • GASTAUD
  • GIRAUD
  • BAILET
  • BRUNO
  • CIAIS
  • MAUREL
  • ROSSO
  • LAMBERT
  • PELLEGRINO
  • BERNARD
  • RAYBAUD
  • CAUVIN
  • MARTINEZ
  • GARCIA
  • FABRE
  • LAUGIER
  • SIMON
  • MARI
  • FERRARI
  • FERRERO
  • MARTINI
  • GIOANNI
  • DANIEL
  • MARRO
  • VERAN
  • GIRAUDO
  • DUBOIS
  • TOSELLO
  • GASTALDI
  • IMBERT
  • BERNARDI
  • PASTORELLI
  • MUSSO
  • AUGIER
  • VIAL
  • FRANCO
  • MILLO
  • LOPEZ
  • BERTRAND


🖵 Genealogy sites in Alpes-Maritimes


Genealogy circles and associations in Alpes-Maritimes and surrounding areas

 

Genealogy blogs that talk about Alpes-Maritimes

 

Accounts to follow on social media


 

Happy researching !


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