Check this out: Family Tree Spreadsheets

Latest Articles and Tutorials

  • How To Split Names In Excel
    Have you got a long list of people’s names in Excel and you’re not sure how to sort or filter them by surname? The challenge occurs when the first and last name are in a single cell. You may also have middle names jammed in there. And worse, there may be a prefix (Mrs.) or … Read more
  • Last Names Starting With M (Over 600 Names)
    Are you looking for a comprehensive list of last names beginning with “M”? We’ve used the 2000 and 2010 U.S. Census to compile over six hundred surnames that start with the letter M and had at least five thousand people with the name In the table below, you’ll see the total number of bearers for … Read more
  • Create A Four-Generation Family Tree In Google Sheets
    This tutorial takes you step-by-step through creating a four-generation family tree in Google Sheets. A four-generation tree goes back to eight great-grandparents. This tutorial builds a tree that prints on a single landscape page. If you’re too busy for the twelve steps in this tutorial, jump down to the end to grab our “done for you” Google Sheets template bundle. … Read more
  • Make a Word Cloud From Your Family Tree
    A word cloud is a visual representation of text. The size of each word in the cloud is proportional to its frequency. When we use word clouds to represent our family tree, we are usually making one from either: In this tutorial, I show two ways to make a word cloud based on last names … Read more
  • How To Convert A GEDCOM File To Spreadsheet (Script Provided)
    Do you want to convert a GEDCOM file into a spreadsheet with every person nicely formatted in rows? This tutorial walks through how to do this for free. You’ll be working with a script or piece of code, but don’t worry if you’re not familiar with programming. I’ll provide the script in a way that … Read more
  • GEDCOM – An Introduction For Beginners
    This article explains the basics of the GEDCOM file format that is used copy family trees between different platforms and software. I answer all the basic questions, with a gentle introduction to some of the more complex topics. What Is GEDCOM And How Does It Work? Suppose that you download your family tree from Ancestry.com … Read more
  • Create A Six Generation Family Tree In Google Sheets
    A six-generation tree goes up to 32 great-great-great-grandparents. Our layout in Google Sheets prints on a single landscape page. That’s perfect for bringing to libraries and archives. If you’re too busy for the twelve steps in this tutorial, jump down to the end to grab our “done for you” Google Sheets template bundle. What The 6-Generation Pedigree Tree Looks Like … Read more
  • Create A Seven Generation Family Tree In Google Sheets
    A seven-generation tree goes up to 64 great-great-great-great-grandparents. Our layout in Google Sheets prints on two landscape pages that can be easily taped together. If you’re too busy for the fourteen steps in this tutorial, jump down to the end to grab our “done for you” Google Sheets template bundle. What The 7-Generation Pedigree Tree Looks Like The picture below … Read more
  • Create An Eight-Generation Family Tree In Google Sheets
    An eight-generation tree goes up to 128 great-great-great-great-great-grandparents. Our layout in Google Sheets prints on six portrait pages that can be easily taped together (three pages across and two deep). If you’re too busy for the thirteen steps in this tutorial, jump down to the end to grab our “done for you” Google Sheets template bundle. What The 8-Generation Pedigree … Read more
  • Origins Of GEDCOM (A Brief History)
    If you’ve copied your family tree between different genealogy sites and software, then you’ve probably dealt with a GEDCOM file. Have you ever wondered how the GEDCOM format came about? This article delves back into history to it origins. I also take a quick look at why the genealogical data standard seems stuck in time. … Read more