Dear SIG members,

JewishGen is pleased to present to all genealogical researchers a Pesach
gift: Completely redesigned, expanded, and upgraded Given Names Data
Bases.

As you know, the purpose of this set of 15 European-region data bases is to
give you a greatly expanded list of the European Jewish and secular given
names your ancestor may have used at different times and in different
venues during the period 1795-1925, even if you know only one or two such
names. The GNDBs use archival data and rabbinic name-linking rules for
this purpose.

An additional sweetener is that each such set of linked Jewish and secular
names >from Europe is accompanied by sets of statistically linked vernacular
names adopted by our ancestors upon immigration to any of 10 foreign
countries, such as the US. This allows you to search for their names in
Europe and to find likely names that they may have chosen in any foreign
country, or to follow the reverse research direction.

The major changes in the new March 2003 upgrade as compared with the
original December 2001 version are as follows:

1. The number of European names in the GNDBs is two to three *times* as
much as in the original versions, and many refinements have been made.
2. A large new set of foreign vernacular names has been added for Uruguay
and Argentina.
3. Five new data bases are added for the New (Yiddishized-secular) names
used by Jews during the 19th century in Germany, Hungary, Poland, and other
countries, and recognized by the rabbis.
4. The User interface and navigability are much improved, so that all
pages of the web site can be reached directly >from each web page.
5. Many new explanations of the why and how of given names research are
presented, to answer your many questions, and to assist your research.
6. Historical and tutorial presentations are made of Hilchot Gitin books
in general, and of one important book in particular.

The GNDBs include the following 15 European regions: Belarus, Denmark,
France, Galicia, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Prussia, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine.

They also include foreign vernacular names adopted by immigrants to the
following 10 foreign regions: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
Mexico, Palestine, South Africa, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and United States.

Here is a listing of the topics covered in the new web site:

1. What's on this web site, and Acknowledgement of the help of 29 people
2. Methodology: Theoretical and Empirical Methods
3. Problems Researching Jewish Names
4. Project Status
5. Geographic Regions of Europe
6. How to Search
7. Summary of Search Guidelines
8. Search the GNDBs
9. Search the Special Interest Group GNDBs
10. Hilchot Gitin Books: History
11. "Get Mesudar": A Tutorial
12. "Get Mesudar": Search Old Names
13. "Get Mesudar": Search New Names
14. "Get Mesudar": Search Old Kinuim
15. About the GNDBs, History of Jewish Names, & Transcription Standards

You can visit the 15 new GNDBs at the JewishGen GNDB web site:
< http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/GivenNames/ >. You may wish to
bookmark this site in your Internet browser.

I wish to express my deep appreciation to the 29 people >from all over the
world who assisted me with the many tasks associated with web site
development: Supplying archival lists of names, Beta testing of the web
site, Gravestone readings >from foreign countries, Editing of the text,
Search system and data base system design, and much more. Their names are
listed at the bottom of the home page of the web site.

In particular, I wish to thank Warren Blatt and Michael Tobias of JewishGen
for their expert and patient shepherding of the process of producing the
web site itself.

Enjoy! And Chag Pesach Sameach,

Professor G. L. Esterson, Ra'anana, Israel



--
Rosanne Leeson
Los Altos, CA USA
Leeson1@...