In the last name index, the Russian feminine surnames are given in the basic (masculine) form, ie. Romanov instead of Romanova, Apraxin instead of Apraxina etc.

Beginning with Emperor Petr III Fedorovich, the official name of the Russian Imperial House was Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov. Only the name Romanov will be used here. Indeed, the family name of the current claimant to the Russian Imperial Throne, Grand Duke Georgi Mihailovich, should include the family name of his father: Hohenzollern-Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov. "Almanach de Gotha", however, hasn't introduced this change yet.

Many Romanov descendants born in exile have adopted the surname Romanoff. To avoid any misunderstandings, only the name Romanov will be used here. Most - or just about all - Romanov descendants of today from morganatic marriages are not entitled to the old family name and title. The titles accorded after the Revolution ("Prince Romanovski-Krasinski", "Prince Romanovski-Iljinski" etc.) are morganatic ranks of a prince of the nobility of the Russian Empire, not that of Prince of Russia (Prince of the Royal Blood). Strictly according to the protocol, only those family members whose parents are of equal noble birth are entitled to the title "Prince(ss) Romanov(a)". In the records all Romanovs, Romanoffs and Romanovskis are treated equally and called simply "Romanov", although perhaps some genealogists may not fully approve of this.

As many of the Danish visitors have pointed out, beginning with King Christian IX, the official name of the Danish Royal Family changed from Holstein-Oldenburg to Holstein-Sonderburg-Gl�cksburg.  The Greek and Norwegian Royal Families also belong to this line. In the records the form "Holstein-Oldenburg" and the short form "Gl�cksburg" will be used, just for reasons of simplification.

The Danish Holstein-Oldenburg family might seem somewhat confusing at first sight. The general pattern, however, is not so problematic. The oldest line, Holstein-Oldenburg, ruled Denmark until Christian IX, who belonged to the side line of the family, the Gl�cksburg line, ascended the throne. Since then the Gl�cksburg line has been ruling Denmark, Norway and Greece.

The family of Oldenburg (Dukes and Grand Dukes of Oldenburg) has its origins in the very same family, in the line of Gottorp-Oldenburg, so its official name should really be Holstein-Gottorp-Oldenburg. In these genealogical records the short and common form Oldenburg will be used. The Swedish and Russian lines of the Holstein-Gottorp-Oldenburg family (King Adolf Fredrik of Sweden and his descendants as well as Russian Emperors since Petr III Fedorovich) are also sidelines of the Holstein-Oldenburg family. The ancestral chart of the Oldenburg family (in pdf format, as the chart is pretty big) may illustrate the connections between the different Oldenburg lines.

The ruling noble house of Baden has its origins in the old noble family of Z�hringen. To simplify matters and to avoid any confusion, the common family name Baden will be used in the records.

All Saxon lineages, e.g. Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach etc. etc., belong to the one big Wettin family. One of the earliest provable Saxon nobles, Count Thimo (+1101), built the castle of Wettin, whence the family took its name. To tell the difference between the many different lineages of the Wettin family, the individual lineage names will be used (with the exception of Great Britain, since the British genealogical practice is to call the descendants of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert by the original family name).