Lake County Genealogical Society

Hungarian Tombstone Translation Helps

Many gravestones in St. Mary's and Evergreen Cemeteries are in Hungarian. Often they are of limestone and in the shape of a cross with a wide base for the inscription. Some have crucifixes, some have flowers and/or photographs. The following words were found on stones in the two cemeteries and translated. This will not cover every word found on every stone, but should be enough to give the general idea of the meaning. The more extensive stones give dates and ages as well as relationships to parents, spouse, and children. Some give nativity location, and little attempt at displaying those places was made here.

Names are usually reversed, putting the surname before the given name. A wife's name is written as Smith Johnné. The -né as a suffix on a man's given name means Mrs., making this example Mrs. John Smith. Her birth name is often given after this.

Many men have the first name of Szent (Saint) but rarely use it. However, it does appear on occasion on grave markers.

Most stones begin with "Itt nyugszik"-"here rests" or "here lies" and ends with something meaning "rest in peace."

The Hungarian vowels are a, e, i, o, u, é, ü, á, ö, ó, and í.

Thanks go to Mary Sallay, Gus Enyedi, and Istvan (Steve) Herczeg for assistance with this information and the following glossary. It is still a work in progress.