Surname to Soundex Code

The Soundex system is the means established by the National Archives to index the U.S. censuses (beginning with 1880). It codes together surnames of the same and similar sounds but of variant spellings. Soundexes are arranged by state, Soundex code of the surname, and given name.

Soundex codes begin with the first letter of the surname followed by a three-digit code that represents the (first three) remaining consonants. Let the Soundex converter do the tricky work for you and capture the nuances of the coding scheme (such as coding adjacent like letters as one). Enter above the surname that you want coded.

Soundex Coding Guide

The letters A,E,I,O,U,Y,H, and W are not coded.

Note that surname prefixes such as van, Von, Di, de, le, D', dela, or du are sometimes disregarded in alphabetizing and in coding.

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