Daily Ancestorspurius
Spurius is Latin for "illegitimate," used in church registers for a child born outside marriage, usually of an unknown father.
Spurius (feminine spuria) is an older and blunter word than illegitimus for a child born outside marriage. Dictionaries define it as illegitimate with an unknown father.
As with illegitimus, the mother is usually the only parent named. Later records may show the child under the mother's surname or under a stepfather's surname.
As seen in a recordBaptism entry in a Latin register
Joannes spurius, mater Anna Klein
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "spurius." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/latin/spurius. Last checked 2026-10-01.