The need for genealogy arose from people's yearning to know more about their ancestry. For a long time legends were enough, but eventually, the desire to find the objective truth concerning the actual ancestors was to exert itself. The personification of history, which was the original purpose of genealogy, is still its greatest fascination, all the more so now that it is (or should be) dealing in scientifically proven facts. Tracing the history of one family is an admirable way of learning history.

The reflection of wars and great national events on a set of individual families can sometimes tell one much more than the sweeping generalisations of a few politico-economic historians. Similarly, how much deeper an understanding of social history can be derived by reading the plain facts about families without having them interpreted and analysed by a sociologist. The growth of genealogy took place as nations established themselves with modes of government and legal systems.

Royal genealogies, as set out in the chronicle books, were obviously of the utmost importance in deciding the succession of royal families. The desire to assert the privileges of an aristocracy by birth was a powerful factor in Roman and Ancient Greek times and in the development of genealogy throughout history. Inheritance was the heart of the hereditary principle and in this context genealogists were able to trace the historical development of a surname by establishing when it had first been recorded. In settling disputes as to the inheritance of property, genealogy came into its own.