Genealogy in Côtes-d'Armor (22): Find your Breton ancestors thanks to online archives

Genealogy guide: Discover the archives of Côtes-d'Armor and explore the history of your Breton ancestors thanks to many online resources.

©️Wikimedia - François Goglins

Updated: March 6, 2024

The Côtes-du-Nord (Aodoù an Hanternoz in Breton, Cote d'Nor in Gallo) was the former name of the French department of Côtes-d'Armor, given in 1990. 

The Côtes-du-Nord were created during the French Revolution, on March 4, 1790, and included former Catholic bishoprics: the Trégor (Tréguier), the northeast of Cornouaille (Quimper), most of the bishopric of Saint-Brieuc, the northwest of the bishopric of Saint-Malo, a small part to the west of the bishopric of Dol and two small parts to the northeast of the bishopric of Vannes.

The neighboring departments of Côtes-d'Armor are the Finistère, the Ille-et-Vilaine, and the Morbihan. The department is part of the Brittany region.

📄 Archives in Côtes-d'Armor

The departmental archives of Côtes-d'Armor: a goldmine for genealogists

The departmental archives of Côtes-d'Armor preserve over 21km of documents, from 1081 to the present day. Each year, nearly 300m of documents are collected and preserved.

Visiting the departmental archives of Côtes-d'Armor:

📍 7 rue François Merlet, 22000 Saint-Brieuc

Contacting the departmental archives of Côtes-d'Armor:

📞 02 96 78 78 77

📧 Send an email

Online archives of Côtes-d'Armor: how to find your ancestors from home

Browse the digitized archives available online to search for your ancestors: 

• Parish registers and civil status records 
• Population census : from 1836 to 1936
• Military census : classes 1867 to 1921
• Notary directories
• Act control and registration
• Mortgages : for the offices of Dinan, Guingamp, Lannion, Loudéac and Saint-Brieuc
• Cadaster plans
• Plans of the Duchy of Penthièvre
• Maps and plans
• Posters 
• Postcards and photographs : over 3,300 documents
• Old press : nearly 200 titles from 1810 to 1950
• Deliberations of the General Council
• Communal notices 14-18
• Dioceses of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier
• Prison registers
• Francization of ships

Généarmor: the search engine for the archives of Côtes-d'Armor

The departmental archives of Côtes-d'Armor have a genealogical search engine - Généarmor. This database, the result of a partnership between the Departmental Council of Côtes-d'Armor and the Côtes-d'Armor Genealogical Center, allows you to easily find your ancestors in this department. 

Généarmor allows you to browse over 9 million acts, entries made by the Poher Genealogical and Historical Center, entries from the Chef d'Armor association, and an interactive map of the department.

Salvindex: the tool to save time in your archive searches

Developed by the Genealogical Center of Côtes-d'Armor, Salvindex gives you direct access to acts by commune, type of act, and year. With one click, you will be redirected to the first page of the registers for the requested year.

Municipal archives in Côtes-d'Armor: an additional source

You can contact the town halls of the department to find interesting acts. Some municipalities offer to consult their archives online, which is the case for the municipal archives of Saint-Brieuc.

Acts online

Find various acts available online:

• The Little Memorial of Côtes-d'Armor, by the Côtes-d'Armor Genealogical Circle
• Loose acts, immigrant marriages, and notary acts on FranceGenWeb

Unusual acts

Genealogists have found unusual acts in the archives of Côtes-d'Armor:

• An earthquake, an invasion of caterpillars, a bell falling and many other unusual acts to read on the J. Marchal's website (Ah! Ah! Ah!, my ancestors)
• An act written backwards and a "stupid" mother on the Geneactinsolites website
• Unusual testimonies in the registers of Côtes-d'Armor

🧳 Migrations in Côtes-d'Armor: trace the journeys of your ancestors

The Côtes-d'Armor have experienced several waves of migration throughout their history: 

• The Breton emigration to Armorique (5th-6th centuries): two waves of emigration from Great Britain to Armorique - the first was military (disputed) and the second was led by high ecclesiastical dignitaries from Great Britain.
  
  
• Emigration to New France (17th-18th centuries)
  
  
• Migration to industrial cities (19th century) : many inhabitants of Côtes-d'Armor left rural areas to find work in Paris, Lille, or Lyon, as well as in Belgium and the United Kingdom. 
  
  
• Emigration to the United States (19th-early 20th centuries) : many Bretons settled in the regions of New England and the Midwest to escape poverty and agricultural difficulties.
  
  
• Spanish immigration between 1937 and 1940 : about 4,000 refugees arrived in Côtes-d'Armor (21,000 in Brittany), fleeing battles in Spain.
  
  
• Migration to the Paris region (20th century) : seeking employment and a better life, some inhabitants of Côtes-d'Armor settled in the Paris region - especially after World War II.

Several important places also attracted new inhabitants to the department for commerce, military life, and administration: 

• Saint-Brieuc and its port, the Légué, important for commerce and offshore fishing. Also Binic, Paimpol, and its region, which prospered from the 16th century with offshore fishing off Newfoundland and Iceland.
• Quintin, Uzel, Loudéac, Moncontour, Lamballe: important cities for the canvas trade that enriched Côtes-d'Armor between the 16th and 18th centuries

To learn more about migrations in Côtes-d'Armor and Brittany:

• Brittany: migrations at the heart of its history, by Le Monde Histoire & Civilisations
• History and memory of immigration in Brittany, by Anne Morillon and Angélina Etiemble
• Bretons here and elsewhere, by l'Espace des sciences
• From the black hole to recovery: the story of Côtes-d'Armor emigration from the Revolution to the present day, by Jean Le Bihan
• The Italians of Saint-Brieuc, by Le Télégramme
• Irish immigrants in Côtes-d'Armor, by Le Télégramme

🏡 Côtes-d'Armor in images: Discover Breton heritage

Videos of Côtes-d'Armor

• Horse breeding – 1930
• Beach and sea at Lancieux – 1945
• Brittany of the Future - 1961
• In Lannion, the first Mondovision reception – 1962
• Trégastel– 1963
• Tourism in Normandy and Brittany – 1964
• The child of the sea – 1966
• Monuments and statues – 1966
• The gang – 1966
• The spirit of the bell tower - 1968
• Electronic vocation of Brittany – 1969
• Forbidden Brittany - 1969
• Vacations in Côtes-d'Armor - 1970
• Agricultural building in Plouguiel – 1972
• Tréguier protected sector – 1972
• Vacations in a caravan in Brittany – 1975
• The last flax dresser – 1978
• Black tide – 1980

Old images and postcards

• On Gallica: the « Côtes-du-Nord » or « Côtes d'Armor » in images
• On Clochers de France: the belfries of Côtes-d'Armor in images
• On Mémorial GenWeb: postcards of the war memorials 
• On CPArama: collection of postcards from Côtes-d'Armor
• By Franck L: old postcards from Lézardrieux – Côtes-d'Armor - Brittany

Ancient maps of the department

• From Cassini villages to today's communes: the department of Côtes-d'Armor
• On Old Maps Online: the ancient maps of the department
• On Gallica: the ancient maps of the Côtes-d'Armor

📄 The history of Côtes-d'Armor: A dive into the department's past

• History of the Côtes-d'Armor department
• Picturesque guide of the traveler in France – Les Côtes-du-Nord – 1838
• Geological map of Côtes-du-Nord - 1844
• The Côtes-du-Nord: history and geography of all towns and communes in the department– 1859
• Directory of Côtes-du-Nord - 1866
• Relief efforts in 1790 and 1791 in the department of Côtes-du-Nord - 1909
• Agriculture in Côtes-du-Nord in 1844 – 1919
• The population of the Côtes-du-Nord department in 1793 – 1924
• The department of Côtes-du-Nord in the year XII (1803) - 1925
• The Assize Court of Côtes-du-Nord from 1811 to 1832 – 1959
• Chapter V – Peasants-workers and Brittany - 1977
• Alain Prigent, the teachers of Côtes-du-Nord under the Third Republic. Laïcité, mutualism, and trade unionism – 2006
• Isabelle Le Boulanger, The abandonment of children. The example of Côtes-du-Nord in the 19th century - 2012

On Gallica: the books, and the press to learn everything about the Côtes-d'Armor department

🏠 The 50 most common surnames in Côtes-d'Armor

Top 10 surnames in Côtes-d'Armor: 

• HAMON
• HERVE
• THOMAS
• LE ROUX
• LE GALL
• RAULT
• OLLIVIER
• LE GOFF
• MORIN
• HENRY

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

• LUCAS
• PRIGENT
• MARTIN
• BRIAND
• ROUXEL
• MAHE
• DANIEL
• GUILLOU
• ROBERT
• NICOLAS
• GICQUEL
• MORVAN
• MICHEL
• GAUTIER
• ROLLAND
• JOUAN
• COLLET
• RIOU
• ANDRE
• PHILIPPE
• SIMON
• TANGUY
• LE GUEN
• ROBIN
• RENAULT
• LE CALVEZ
• JEGOU
• RICHARD
• GUEGAN
• GEFFROY
• LE BIHAN
• LE MEUR
• LE ROY
• MOISAN
• DERRIEN
• PERROT
• CONNAN
• GUYOMARD
• LE CORRE
• ALLAIN

🚀 Useful genealogy websites for your research in Côtes-d'Armor

Genealogy circles and associations in Côtes-d'Armor and surroundings

• Côtes-d'Armor Genealogical Center
• Goelo Genealogical Circle
• East-Central Brittany Genealogical Circle
• Breton Genealogy History Association

Genealogy blogs in Côtes-d'Armor

• The Penthièvre Blog
• Time Gets Involved
• Between Rance and Couasnon
• Sources on Breton Gentlemen
• History, genealogy, and heritage in Ploeuc... and its surroundings
• History of the Robien neighborhood in Saint-Brieuc

Social media accounts to follow

On Facebook:

• @CotesdarmorleDepartement
• Genealogy in Côtes-d'Armor (22)
• Bretagne History Center/Kreizenn Istor Breizh
• Breton Genealogy (22 29 35 56 and 44)

On X (formerly Twitter):

• @Genealogie22
• @Cotesdarmor22

Happy researching! 

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