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.

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

©️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: 



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:



Unusual acts


Genealogists have found unusual acts in the archives 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:





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



Videos of Côtes-d'Armor




Old images and postcards



Ancient maps of the department





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



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




Genealogy blogs in Côtes-d'Armor




Social media accounts to follow


On Facebook:


On X (formerly Twitter):



Happy researching! 



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