The Surname Exchange consists of the following two documents which correspond to the original two sections in the Staumbaum :

The Surname Exchange List contains all the surnames currently on file and the code numbers of members who are researching those surnames.

The Members Code List contains a cross reference of member code numbers with their corresponding mailing address.

For many years GRHS has encouraged members to submit a family data sheet showing their ancestors. After doing this they were eligible to have the surnames they were researching and their addresses published once a year in the Der Stammbaum (literally "The Family Tree" in German) publication to see what family history connections they could make with other members. Each Stammbaum had two sections. The first section was a list of all member codes and the name and address associated with each member code. The second section was a list of surnames being researched and the member codes of members interested in each surname.

As publishing costs rose and the internet became available GRHS finally decided to only distribute the Stammbaum data online. The GRHS Surname Exchange is the online version of the Stammbaum. Members with a long history with the society will find the following documents quite familiar but they will also note that additional contact information such as Email addresses or personal websites have been provided in some cases. These documents are updated regularly and the date each document was last updated is noted in the file.