Genealogy in the Hautes-Alpes (05): Find your ancestors

Genealogy cheat sheet - Archives, online records, old postcards, and other resources for your genealogy in the Hautes-Alpes

Genealogy in the Hautes-Alpes (05): Find your ancestors

©️Cartalba

Updated: February 17, 2026


The department of the Hautes-Alpes, located in the heart of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, is a land of contrasts and verticality. Its prefecture, Gap, is one of the highest in France. It is bordered by the departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the Drôme, the Isère and the Savoie, as well as by the Italian border to the east.


Created during the French Revolution in 1790, the department corresponds to the eastern part of the former province of Dauphiné. Historically, it is a territory marked by winter isolation and a strong mountain culture.


The Hautes-Alpes are famous for their forts of Briançon and Mont-Dauphin (designed by Vauban), as well as for the Écrins massif and the Queyras. For genealogists, it is a fascinating department where archives reveal a unique social organization, notably with the system of the " Escartons ," which offered the inhabitants of Briançonnais exceptional freedoms and literacy rates for the time.



📜  The archives of the Hautes-Alpes


Departmental Archives of the Hautes-Alpes

Visit the Departmental Archives of the Hautes-Alpes:

📍22 route de Rambaud, 05000 Gap


Contact the Departmental Archives of the Hautes-Alpes:

📞  04 86 15 31 80

📧  archives05@hautes-alpes.fr


Browse the digitized archives to search for your ancestors: 



Online records 



Unusual records



🗺️ Migrations in Hautes-Alpes


The harsh climate and rugged topography of Hautes-Alpes have made this department a land of constant movement. While immigration has been targeted, emigration (seasonal or permanent) has been a major survival strategy for Hautes-Alpes families.


  • From the Middle Ages to the Modern Era : from the 12th century, the valleys of Freissinières and Val Louise become refuges for the Waldensians. Following persecutions and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), many Protestant Hautes-Alpes residents emigrate to Switzerland, Germany (notably Hesse) and South Africa.

    Lacking winter resources, men leave the mountains every year. We find our Hautes-Alpes ancestors in southern France or Italy as peddlers, itinerant teachers (the famous “schoolmasters” of Briançonnais) or shepherds during transhumance.

  • The 19th century : the exodus to Algeria: Starting in 1830, at the State's urging, entire families (especially from Gapençais) left to colonize Algeria, lured by the promise of free land.

    Although the movement began in the neighboring Ubaye valley (04), many inhabitants of Queyras and Briançonnais followed this flow to Mexico and Louisiana to become merchants in textiles or hospitality.

    The end of the century saw a mass exodus to major industrial centers like Marseille, Lyon or Grenoble, emptying some high-altitude hamlets.

  • 20th and 21st centuries: border proximity obliged the department to welcome many Italian workers, particularly for major civil engineering projects (Serre-Ponçon dam, high mountain roads) and forestry.

    After the two World Wars, Hautes-Alpes, with its pure climate, hosted health and convalescence centers, attracting a population from all over France.

    More recently, urban centers like Gap have seen the installation of populations from the Maghreb and Turkey, working in construction and services. Since the 1970s, there has been a phenomenon of “neo-rurals” fleeing the metropolises to settle in the valleys, transforming the local demographics.


For more information:



🗺️ Hautes-Alpes in pictures


Videos



Old images and postcards



Old maps of the department



📄 The History of the Hautes-Alpes


On Gallica: the books, the press and the manuscripts to learn everything about the Hautes-Alpes Department



💬 The 50 most common surnames in the Hautes-Alpes


Top 10 surnames in the Hautes-Alpes: 

  • FAURE
  • MARTIN
  • ROUX
  • BLANC
  • ARNAUD
  • BOREL
  • MICHEL
  • BERNARD
  • GARCIN
  • REYNAUD


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

  • LAGIER
  • GIRAUD
  • BERTRAND
  • CHAIX
  • ESCALLIER
  • ROBERT
  • ANDRE
  • EYRAUD
  • GARNIER
  • BLANCHARD
  • PASCAL
  • DISDIER
  • IMBERT
  • JAUSSAUD
  • BRUN
  • PELLEGRIN
  • MATHIEU
  • RAMBAUD
  • PHILIP
  • FINE
  • ALLEMAND
  • GIRARD
  • ALBERT
  • ASTIER
  • ARMAND
  • LOMBARD
  • PEYRON
  • SARRAZIN
  • SERRES
  • AUBERT
  • DURAND
  • BOYER
  • ESPITALLIER
  • PONS
  • DAVIN
  • ROLLAND
  • MARCELLIN
  • REY
  • BROCHIER
  • MAUREL



🗺️ Genealogy sites in Hautes-Alpes



Happy researching! 



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