These name changes won’t be an issue to find records, because the records of this period have usually been classified under the current name of the town. You can find a list of the communes whose names changed on this Wikipedia page.īut these changes were only temporary: most towns took their old names back in 1814. For example, Saint-Nazaire became Port-Nazaire at the time. One thing we take for granted, especially in the industrial era, is the keeping of time and a stable, standardized way to measure its passage. Some towns with the word “ Saint” also had their names changed. A graphic page from a Republican calendar (French revolutionary calendar). New names were usually based on geography or on Republican principles.įor example, Bar-le-Duc in the departement of Meuse was renamed Bar-sur-Ornain because “ duc” (meaning duke) was a nobility title (Ornain was the name of the local river). This was mostly done to erase all signs of royalty, nobility or religion from town names. Town n ame changesĭuring the Revolutionary period, many towns had their names changed. The reverse conversion is also possible with this link.Īs an example, the date seen above would convert to July 29th, 1801.
If you want to convert a date from the Revolutionary calendar to the current calendar, some tools have been made available by French archives, such as this one by the Archives of Pas de Calais (select the year in the drop-down menu above the table, then click on the chosen date and a popup will tell you the date in the current calendar). For example, the date above would be written “ 10 thermidor an IX“. Note: when Revolutionary dates are written with numbers, roman numerals are usually used for the year. Note that the Republican calendar was not, in fact, introduced until 24 November 1793. 3 months for summer, ending in -dor: Messidor, Thermidor and FructidorĮxample of Revolutionary date on a birth record The Calendar of Reason / French Revolutionary Calendar / Republican Calendar started from 22 September 1792 (Gregorian calendar, the calendar that is currently in use).3 months for spring, ending in -al: Germinal, Floréal and Prairial.3 months for winter, ending in -ôse: Nivôse, Pluviôse and Ventôse.3 months for autumn, ending in -aire: Vendémiaire, Brumaire and Frimaire.With this calendar, the year was divided into 12 months with names based on seasons: Therefore, the calendar went back to normal on the 1st of January 1806. But it was set to begin on the 22nd of September 1792, day when the French Republic was established.Īs a result the first year of the Revolutionary calendar started on the 22nd of September 1792, the second year in September 1793 and so on. The French Revolutionary calendar - also called Republican calendar - was created in October 1793. The Revolutionary calendar, or Republican calendar And second, because the names of some towns changed at the time. First, because during this period a new calendar - the Revolutionary calendar - was used. All opinions contained on this site are mine and do not represent the opinions of my employers, family, friends or pet dinosaurs.The Revolutionary period (between 17) can be quite challenging for French genealogy. Send me an e-mail: updated February 16 th 2011. Hence the two calculators will sometimes give results a day apart. It used the astronomical system for determining leap years that was actually used.Īs a consequence of the two different systems, there were leap years in years III, VII and XI which is reflected in this calculator, whilst in the calculator above the leap years fall in years IV, VIII, XII, XVI, etc. This second calculator will convert revolutionary dates for years I to XIV (the years the calendar was actually in use) into the Gregorian calendar. It is based on the mathematical calculation of leap years proposed in 1795 but never used. It will convert Gregorian dates after September 22nd 1792, the official start of the calendar, into the revolutionary calendar. The calculator below is an expanded version of a script which I developed for The Voice of the Turtle. French Revolutionary Calendar on Wikipedia. From 1793-1805 France used a different calendar from the rest of the world, until Napoleon abolished it and returned France to the Gregorian Calendar for the start of 1806.
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