Sri Lanka Genealogy

Asia

Sri Lanka

Guide to Sri Lanka ancestry, family history and genealogy: parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Sri Lanka Wiki Topics
Beginning Research
Research Strategies Record Finder Finding Town of Origin
Record Types
Church Records Civil Registration Colonial Records Compiled Genealogies Emigration & Immigration Land and Property	Military Records Online Records Periodicals Religious Records School Records
Sri Lanka Background
Gazetteers History Jurisdictions Languages Maps	Personal Names For Further Reading
Local Research Resources
Archives & Libraries Societies Family History Centers

Country Information

Sri Lanka is an island country in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Asia whose nearest neighbor is India. It was formerly ruled by Portugal, The Netherlands, and Great Britain. The official languages are Sinhalese and Tamil.

Getting Started

Getting Started with Sri Lanka Research Links to articles on getting started with Sri Lanka research. Sri Lanka Church Records Sri Lanka Civil Registration

Sri Lanka Research Tools Links to articles and websites that assist in Sri Lanka research. Sri Lanka RootsWeb Sri Lanka Geneanet Sri Lanka Genealogy FIBIwiki

Sri Lanka (Ceylon) Online Genealogy Records

Ask the Community

Sri Lanka Map

Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Sri Lanka. For more detail, see the U.N. map.

Bay of Bengal

Palk Strait

Northern Province

Gulf of
Mannar

North Central Province

North Western
Province

Eastern
Province

Central
Province

Uva Province

Western
Province

Sabaragamuwa
Province

Southern Province

Indian Ocean

Provinces

Genealogy records are kept on the local level in Sri Lanka. Click on a place below to go to the corresponding Wiki article listing more information.

Sri Lanka is divided into eight provinces.

Central North Central Northern Eastern North Western

Sabaragamuwa Southern Uva Western

Note: In October 2006, the Sri Lankan Supreme Court rule voided a presidential directive merging the North and Eastern Provinces. Many have defended the merger as a prerequisite for a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict. A parliamentary decision on the issue is pending.

FamilySearch Resources

Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.

• Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
• Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
• Historical Records
• Family History Center locator map

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1913295088907076/about

Websites

• BBC - Tracing your Asian roots on the Indian subcontinent
• Ceylon Tamils is a site one can search. It is specific to Ceylon Tamil people, and the information has been entered by others.
• The Dutch Burgher Union, featuring genealogies published in their Journal (1909 - 1997).
• Burial records and graveyard indexes
• Genealogy.com Forum
• CoraWeb for India and Sri Lanka.
• Ministry of Agriculture provides maps, annual rainfall, etc. to help determine where farmers might have lived.
• Sri Lanka Maps, geography, and history