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Spanish Terms for Family Historians
Researching Your Family in Spanish Records
This page translates Spanish words commonly found in genealogical records; those referring to marriages, censuses, deaths, etc. Other pages on this site translate some of the more difficult terms you will encounter in the Spanish records, as well as some of the more generic words and phrases.
LANGUAGE CHARACTERISTICS
Spanish words for persons, places, and things (nouns) are classified as masculine or feminine. El (the masculine form of the) is used with masculine words. La (the feminine form of the) is used with feminine words. Masculine words generally end in o, r, l, and ma. Feminine words generally end in a, iín, tad, dad, tud, and umbre. Examples are hijo, for son, and hija, for daughter; niño for boy, niña for girl; esposo for husband, esposa for wife.
Most adjectives used to describe nouns are masculine or feminine. Adjectives which end in o are masculine. Feminine adjectives end in a. For example, the married son would be translated as el hijo casado, while the married daughter would be translated as la hija casada.
Variant Forms of Words
In Spanish, as in English, the forms of some words will vary according to how they are used in a sentence. Who—whose—whom or marry—marries— married are examples of words in English with variant forms. This word list gives the standard form of each Spanish word. As you read Spanish records, you will need to be aware that some words vary with usage.
Plural forms of Spanish words usually add s to the singular noun as well as to the article and adjective. Thus, el abuelo materno (the maternal grandparent) become los abuelos maternos (the maternal grandparents).
KEY GENEALOGICAL WORDS
To find and use specific types of Spanish records, you will need to know some key words in Spanish. This section gives key genealogical terms in English and the Spanish words with the same or similar meanings.
For example, in the first column you will find the English word marriage. In the second column you will find Spanish words with meanings such as marry, marriage, wedding, wedlock, unite, legitimate, joined, and other words used in Spanish records to indicate marriage. Variant endings of Spanish words are given in parentheses.
| English
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Spanish
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| archive
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archivo
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| baptism
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bautismo, bauticé, bautizado (a), bautismo, crisma
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| birth
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nacimiento, nació, nacido (a)
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| burial
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entierro, sepultura, entierrado (a), sepultado (a)
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| buried
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enterré, di sepultura ecclesiastica
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| Catholic Church
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Iglesia Católica
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| census
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censo, padrón
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| child
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niño (a), hijo (a), párvulo (a), expósito
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| christening
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See baptism
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| church records
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registros parroquiales
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| civil registry
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Registro Civil
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| confirmation
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confirmación, crisma
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| day
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día
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| deceased
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difunto (a), difuncto (a), defuncto (a), finado (a)
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| death
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muerte, defunción, fallecimiento, óbito, muerto (a), fallecido (a)
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| died
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murio
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| executor, executrix
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albaseas
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| father
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padre
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| husband
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esposo, marido, cónyuge
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| index
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índice
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| maiden
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Doncella
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| marriage
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matrimonio, casamiento
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| married
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casé, casado (a), cassado (a)
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| military
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militar, ejército
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| month
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mes
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| morning
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mañana
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| mother
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madre
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| name, given
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nombre de pila, nombre de bautismo
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| name, surname
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nombre, apellido
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| parents
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padres
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| parish
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parroquia
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| resident
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vesino, vecino, besino
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| single
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soltero (a)
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| small child
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parvulo, parbulo (a)
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| unknown parents
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padres no conosidos
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| wife
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esposa, marida, mujer, cónyuge
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| year
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año
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