Most of the nobility were Baltic Germans, but with the changing political landscape over the centuries, Polish, Swedish and Russian families also became part of the nobility, just as Baltic German families re-settled in e.g. the Swedish and Russian Empires.
大部分的绅士為波罗的海德国人，但是在經過幾個世紀政治情勢不斷改變後，波蘭、瑞典和俄羅斯家族也能夠成為貴族的一部分，就如同在波罗重新落戶的海德国家族，例如瑞典和俄罗斯帝国。