Genealogy in Ain: Help, Resources, and Useful Archives

Genealogy Cheat Sheet - Links to archives, civil status, registers, old postcards, books about the department, and more

Genealogy in Ain: Help, Resources, and Useful Archives

©️Wikimedia - Benoît Prieur

Updated: April 2, 2024


The Ain department is located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France. It was created during the French Revolution, in August 1793, from several provinces of the Ancien Régime - Bresse, Bugey, Valromey, and the Pays de Gex.


The Ain department is now bordered by the departments of Jura, the Haute-Savoie, the Savoie, the Isère, the Rhône and the Saône-et-Loire.


📍 Good to know: Family names in the Ain department are often characteristic of the region. For example: Bressan family names often end with "-et" or "-at", while family names from Bugey often end with "-az" or "-ex".



📁 Ain Archives 


Visiting the Departmental Archives of Ain :

📞 1 boulevard Paul Valéry, 01000 Bourg-en-Bresse


Contacting the Departmental Archives of Ain :

📞 04 74 32 12 80

📧 archives.departementales@ain.fr



Departmental Archives of Ain: Searching for Your Ancestors


Start searching for your ancestors in the digitized records of the Departmental Archives of Ain: 



Municipal Archives of Bourg-en-Bresse Available Online


The municipal archives of the city of Bourg-en-Bresse in the Ain department are digitized and available online: 

  • Deliberations
  • Tables of deliberations
  • Municipal Council debates
  • Municipal bulletin since 1966
  • Decrees
  • Tables of decrees 
  • Atlases
  • Alignment authorization registers
  • Cartularies
  • City accounts
  • Revolutionary correspondence of the deputies of Bresse
  • Evacuees from Belfort and refugees
  • Parish registers
  • Civil records
  • Decennial tables
  • Population census
  • Hôtel-Dieu - Tables of deliberations
  • Hôtel-Dieu - Deliberations
  • Hôtel-Dieu - Estates
  • Charity - Will of Anne-Marie Crollet 
  • Charity - Inventory of titles from 1653 to 1689
  • Charity - Inventory of foundation titles
  • Charity - Deliberations
  • Charity - Estates
  • Charity - Assisted children
  • Charity - Elderly


Online Records 




Unusual Records




🧳 Migrations in Ain


The Ain department has not experienced significant waves of migration. Here, however, is a brief overview of population movements in the department: 


- During Antiquity: at the Gallo-Roman period, the region was inhabited by the Sequani, the Aedui, and the Allobroges. The Burgundians, a Germanic people, also settled in this territory. 


- In the Middle Ages: the region experienced barbarian invasions, with the Huns, the Burgundians, and the Franks. 


- In the 16th and 17th centuries: the religious wars caused population movements, particularly to Protestant Switzerland. 


- In the 18th century: the region experienced significant seasonal worker migration to Switzerland, particularly in watchmaking and lace.


- In the 19th century: a significant period of migration to the industrial cities of Lyon and Saint-Etienne, in the fields of silk and metallurgy, marked the region. 


For more information:



🖼️ Ain in Pictures


Videos




Images and Old Postcards




Old Maps of the Department


  • From Cassini’s villages to today’s communes: the department of the Ain
  • On Old Maps Online: old maps of the department
  • On Gallica: old maps of the Ain



📆 The History of Ain



On Gallica: the books and the manuscripts to learn everything about the Ain department



🏠 The 50 most common surnames in Ain


Top 10 surnames in Ain: 

  • MOREL
  • PERRET
  • BERNARD
  • BLANC
  • PONCET
  • PERRIN
  • MARTIN
  • FAVRE
  • CHANEL
  • JACQUET


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

  • LAURENT
  • ROBIN
  • MICHEL
  • DURAND
  • BOUVARD
  • GIRARD
  • DUBOIS
  • GAILLARD
  • JOSSERAND
  • PERDRIX
  • MARECHAL
  • BROYER
  • GUILLOT
  • ROUX
  • DESMARIS
  • BERTHET
  • MATHIEU
  • CHARVET
  • MILLET
  • JOLY
  • HUMBERT
  • BRUNET
  • BREVET
  • BERTRAND
  • MERCIER
  • PROST
  • FAVIER
  • CLERC
  • MONNET
  • GUILLERMIN
  • BERGER
  • GAUTHIER
  • PAUGET
  • PERRIER
  • COCHET
  • BOUVIER
  • TOURNIER
  • CURT
  • PETIT
  • COLLET



🗺️ Genealogy sites in Ain


Genealogy circles and associations in Ain and nearby




Genealogy blogs in Ain




Useful social networks



Happy researching!


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