Daily Ancestorledig
Ledig means "single, unmarried"; in German records a ledig man or woman had never married, as in ledige Magd (unmarried maid).
Ledig is the standard word for a person who has never been married, so in a marriage register it separates a first marriage from the remarriage of a Witwe or Witwer. The short form is led.
In older records the same word can describe a child born out of wedlock, ein lediges Kind. If ledig stands next to a child's name rather than an adult's, read the rest of the entry to see whether illegitimacy is meant.
As seen in a recordMarriage register of a German Catholic parish, 1860s
Bräutigam: Andreas Huthmacher, led. Schuhmacher, 27 J.; Braut: Barbara Zenglein, led., 23 J.
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How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "ledig." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/german/ledig. Last checked 2026-10-28.