Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors

Author: National Records of Scotland

Scotland

Published on 5 November 2026 by Birlinn General (Birlinn Ltd) in the United Kingdom

Paperback | 288 pages, Illustrations, black and white
231 x 156 x 15 | 496g

A new edition of the bestselling guide to this increasingly popular pursuit.

Scotland has the best-maintained records and facilities of any country in the world for undertaking family research, and now that the National Records of Scotland are available online they can be consulted by anyone from whatever country.

Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors is the National Records' official guide and is written in an accessible style from the unique perspective of a custodian of the records. It details all the latest internet developments, including a chapter on family history on the web. It also points to more traditional resources, explaining step by step how to research records of births, marriages and wills.