Genealogy Vocabulary Quiz

A pedigree chart, also called an ancestor chart, shows only the direct ancestors of one individual, moving outward from the subject through parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. It is often used to plan research trips by revealing which generations and branches still have gaps.

A census is an official periodic population count that records details such as name, age, occupation and place of birth for everyone in a household. Because censuses are taken at regular intervals, they let researchers track a family's location and circumstances at successive points in time, such as confirming an ancestor's occupation and address in a specific year.

Before civil registration began, the parish register was the primary record of vital events. Kept by a church parish, it recorded baptisms, marriages and burials in its congregation, making it a crucial genealogical source for research into periods before the nineteenth century.

A probate record is generated when a deceased person's estate is legally administered. It can include the will itself, an inventory of possessions, and the distribution of assets to heirs, often revealing family relationships, economic status and the names of beneficiaries not found elsewhere.

A vital record is an official government document recording a birth, marriage or death. In England and Wales, civil registration of vital events began in 1837, creating a national record that genealogists can order directly from the General Register Office.

A direct ancestor is someone you descend from directly, such as a parent or grandparent. A collateral relative descends from the same ancestor as you but through a different line — a cousin, aunt, uncle, nephew or niece — and is not part of your direct line of descent.

DNA testing compares segments of genetic material between individuals to identify shared ancestry and relationships. It can reveal unexpected relatives, confirm suspected family connections, and trace deep ethnic origins that documentary records alone cannot provide.

The maternal line traces descent through mothers, and mitochondrial DNA — passed only from mother to child — can be used to follow it back many generations. The paternal line traces descent through fathers, and Y-DNA, passed only from father to son, is used to trace male ancestry and often correlates with surname inheritance.

Dying intestate means a person died without a valid will. In such cases, a court typically appointed an administrator to manage the estate and produce a detailed inventory, which is now often a valuable genealogical document listing family members and possessions.

A transcription copies a historical record word-for-word, preserving the exact spelling and wording of the original, which is important because old documents often contain non-standard spellings of names. This is different from an abstract, which only summarises key details, or a translation into another language.

A family tree is a diagram or chart showing relationships between family members across multiple generations, usually including names, birth and death dates, and marriage information. Unlike a pedigree chart, a full family tree can also include descendants and collateral relatives, not just direct ancestors.

This quiz is aimed at B1 to C1 learners of English. The vocabulary covers the core language of family history research, useful for anyone with English-speaking ancestors or using English-language genealogical archives. Reviewing the full glossary before attempting the quiz will help lower-level learners prepare.