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Blank family tree template

A blank family tree is a fill-in chart that organises a family by generation: you at the bottom, your parents above, then their parents. These three templates cover 3, 4 and 5 generations as print-ready PDFs, with a spreadsheet version for on-screen entry.

Direct download, no sign-up and no email address.

3 generationsYou, your parents, your grandparents. 7 boxes, A4 portrait format.The simplest, ideal for a school project or a first attempt.Download the PDF
4 generationsUp to your great-grandparents. 15 boxes, A4 landscape format.The most common format for a family, and one that still works on the wall.Download the PDF
5 generationsJusqu’aux trisaïeuls. 31 cases, format A4 paysage.For research that is already well advanced. Plan to write small, or print in A3.Download the PDF
Spreadsheet version (CSV, opens in Excel, LibreOffice or Google Sheets)One row per person, with columns for surname, first names, dates, places and notes. Handy for typing everything in before printing.

How to fill in your tree

  1. Start with yourself, at the bottom

    An ancestral tree is filled in from the bottom up: you, then your parents, then their parents. Each generation doubles the number of boxes.

  2. Names first, dates later

    Write down every surname and first name you know before looking for a single date. Dates come later, from the records; names, on the other hand, you get by asking the living.

  3. Talk to the oldest first

    It is the only part of the work with a deadline. An hour of recording with a grandparent is worth weeks in the archives.

  4. Fill the gaps with online archives

    French departmental archives are free and digitised: civil records can be consulted up to about 100 years ago, and parish registers before that.

  5. Write in pencil

    A tree always needs correcting: a wrong date, a forgotten name, a branch that splits in two. Pencil saves you reprinting everything.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Another question? Write to us.

Commencez par vous, en bas, puis remontez : vos parents au-dessus, leurs parents encore au-dessus. Notez d'abord les noms et prénoms, les dates ensuite : elles se trouvent après, dans les actes d'état civil. Écrivez au crayon : vous corrigerez.

Three to four generations fit comfortably on an A4 sheet. Beyond that, the boxes become too small to read from a distance: print in A3, or make one tree per branch.

In France, the departmental archives are online and free: civil records can be consulted up to about 100 years ago, and parish registers before that. Start by asking living relatives: it is quicker, and memories fade.

Yes: the three PDFs and the spreadsheet download directly, with no account, no email address and no watermark. You can print and share them freely, including in class.

Is your tree filled in? Turn it into an artwork

Once the names are gathered, a printed and framed tree passes the family story on better than a sheet in a drawer: the first names and, if you wish, a portrait of each person.

Personalised family tree