Societies

Norwegian Societies

Norway is a great place to do research because of the wealth of historical material that can be found at the country's many archives, libraries, and other repositories. A variety of records can also be found locally at civil registry offices, churches, public libraries, historical societies, and elsewhere. Many records are also now available online at a number of great websites like Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, and Digitalarkivet, all of which have large searchable databases relating to Norwegian history and genealogy.

In addition to these great resources, we have compiled a large number of links that should prove helpful to your search, many of which are are listed below and on our other pages relating to Norwegian genealogy. If you would like a professional genealogist to help you with your search, please click below.

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Genealogical, Heritage, and Historical Societies

Daughters of Norway
FamilySearch - Norway Societies
Genealogy Society of Norway/DIS-Norge
Landslaget for Lokalhistorie Historisk Institutt
Legion of Vikings and Valkyries
Leif Erikson Foundation
Nordic Genealogical Society of Southern California - Los Angeles, California
Norsk Slektshistorisk Forening/The Norwegian Genealogical Society
Norwegian-American Bygdelagenes Fellesraad
Norwegian-American Genealogical Association - Northfield, Minnesota
Norwegian-American Historical Association
Norwegian Genealogical Society
Norwegian Society of Texas
Scandinavian Heritage Association - Minot, North Dakota
Sons of Norway

Norwegian Counties and Church Parishes

Many Norwegian family records can be found online and at various archives and libraries located throughout the country. Many millions of records aren't yet available online, though, and many of these are awaiting your discovery at the local level at courthouses, historical societies, churches,, cemeteries, and elsewhere in Norway. To find these and other records, click on the links below to discover more information about the specific places where your ancestors lived. You'll find information on these pages that will lead you to the specific documentation you're searching for.

It is important to keep in mind when doing research that the names and boundaries of certain areas in Norway have changed over the past few hundred years. For example, your ancestors may have lived on a certain farm in one county and when borders were redrawn records relating to your family might have been located in another area entirely. When looking for records it is therefore a good idea to search in adjacent areas. Following is a complete list of Norway's present and historic counties, along with links leading to church parish records in all of these places.