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Glossary of some standard
genealogical and historical abbreviations
Click here for catalog
abbreviations
Full words are listed in alphabetical order and cross referenced where possible. Abbreviations as well as alternate words are listed after. Use your find or search function of your browser to locate an abbreviation you are interested in. If the one it stops on could not be possible, try again. Some abbreviations stand for more than one thing, according to context, such as Co. (county and company). Please also be advised that any abbreviation can be found in upper or lower case with or without periods (.), dashes (-), slashes(/ \), etc. All abbreviations below (with the exceptions of postal abbreviations) are found in lower case without other punctuation besides semicolons (;) to divide the possible abbreviations.
We also suggest the following publication: AD975-$16.00 (Special Order) Abbreviations & Acronyms, A Guide for Family Historians (revised 2nd Ed), by Kip Sperry. 8½x11", softbound book, 196 pages.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #
Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary. If the term you are looking for starts with a digit or symbol, choose the '#' link.
- A -
- About (see circa)
abt- Absent Without Leave
awol- Administered or Admistration
adm; admin- Aged
ae; aet- Alabama
AL; ala- Alaska
AK- Ambassador
amb
- Annunciation
annc; annunc- Apartment
APT
- Arizona
AZ- Arkansas
AR; ark
- Artillery
art; arty- American Samoa
AS- At
a; @
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- B -
- Baptismal
baptis- Baptized(ism)
bpt; bapt- Battery
btry; bat; batt- Beach
bch- Before
bef- Born (birth)
b; bn; bir; na; nat
- Bounty Land Warrant
blw
- Brother(s)
bro; bros
- Building
BLDG
- Buried (see sepulr)
bd; bu; bur; burd
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- C -
- California
CA; calif- Canada
can
- Captain
cap; capt
- Cavalry
cav; cavlry- Cemetery
cem
- Census
cen
- Children
ch; chil; child
- Children of the American Revolution
car- Children of the Confederacy
cofc- Civil Service
cs
- Civil War
cw
- Cherokee
che; cher
- Choctaw
cho
- Circa (see about)
c; ca
- Civil War
cw- Civil War Preservation Trust
cwpt
- Co-heir
coh; cohr- Collateral
colls- Colorado
CO
- Colonel
col
- Column
col- Company
co; comp
- Confederate States of America
csa
- Connecticut
CT
- Corporal
cpl; corp
- (the) County (of)
cc; co; con- Created
cr- Continental Society Daughters of Indian Wars
csdiw
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- D -
- Dated
dtd
Daughter (of)
- d; da; dau; (do)
- Daughters of the American Revolution (National Society)
dar (ns)- Death/Deceased (see died)
d; desc
- Delaware
DE
- Department
DEPT
- Died (see death)
d; ob; obt
- Died a bachelor
ob coel- Died in infancy
ob; inf- Died a spinster
ob inn- Died while still a minor
ob inf set- Died without issue
dsp- Died young
dy; ob juv
- Difficult
dif; diff- District of Columbia
DC
- Division
div
- Doctor
dr; dtr- Doctor Veterinary Medicine
dvm
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- E -
- Each
ea- East
E
- Educated (at)
ed; educ- Eldest
el- England
eng
- Ensign
ens
- Estimate(d)
e- Extinct
est; ext; x (extinction of the line)
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- F -
- Federated States of Micronesia
FM
- Female
f; fe
- Floor
FL
- Florida
FL
- Flourished (see lived)
fl- France
fr
- Funeral Home Marker
fhm
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- G -
- General
gen
- Georgia
GA
- Germany
ger
- Grand
g; gnd
- Grand Army of the Republic
gar
- Great grand (etc.)
gg; ggnd (etc.)
- Guam
GU
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- H -
- Hawaii
HI
- Heir (see son)
h; fil et hr- Heir Apparent
hr ap- Heir Presumptive
hr pre- Honorable
ho; hon
- Husband
husb
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- I -
- Idaho
ID- Illinois
IL; ill- Indian Territory
it; in terr- Indiana
IN
- Infant
inf- Infantry
inf
- Information from family
- iff
- Inherited
inh- Iowa
IA
- International Order of Odd Fellows
- ioof
- in the lifetime of his (or her) mother
- vm
- in the lifetime of his (or her) father
- vp
- Island
isl- Ireland
ir; irl; ire
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- J -
Justice of (the) Peace
- jp
Juvinile
- juv; jv
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- K -
- Kansas
KS; kan- Kentucky
KY
- Killed in Action
kia- Knight
knt
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- L -
- Louisiana
LA
- Lieutenant
lt; leut
- Lt. Colonel
lcol; lt col
- Lt. General
lgen; lt gen
- Lived (see flourished)
liv
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- M -
- Maine
ME
- Maiden Name
nee- male
m
- Major
maj
- Major General
mgen; maj gen
- manuscript
mssc
- married dissolved by divorce
m dis by div- married (marriage/date)
m; na; mrd; marr; wed, =
- Marshall Islands
MH; marsh isl- Maryland
MD- maternal
m- Massachusetts
MA; mass
- Medical Doctor
md
- Michigan
MI; mich- Minute Man
mm- Minnesota
MN- Missing in Action
mia- Mississippi
MS; miss- Missouri
MO- Montana
MT
- Mount/Mountain
mt
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- N -
- Nebraska
NE; neb- Nevada
NV- New Hampshire
NH- New Jersey
NJ- New Mexico
NM- New York
NY- North
N- Northeast
NE- Northwest
NW- North Carolina
NC- North Dakota
ND- Northern Mariana Islands
NP
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- O -
- obituary
- obit
- of
- o
- Ohio
- OH
- Oklahoma
OK; okla- Order of Eastern Star
oes- Oregon
OR
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- P -
- Palau
PW
- m
- pcc
- pcy
- Patriotic Service
ps
paternal
Prerogative Court of Canterbury
Prerogatie Court of York
- Pennsylvania
PA; penn
- Pension
pen
- Post Office
po
- Prisoner of War
pow
- Private
pvt
- Probate
pro
- Puerto Rico
PR
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- Q -
- (empty)
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- R -
- Record
rec- Regiment
reg
- Register
reg
Relict (see widow)
- rel
- Reverend
rev
- Revolutionary War
rw
- Rhode Island
RI- Room
RM
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- S -
- Saint
st- Scotland
scot
- sep
- Sergeant
sgt; ssgt; tsgt
Sepulr (see buried)
- Shared or Same Stone With
ssw- Sheriff
shf- Soldier
sol
- Son (of) - (see heir)
s(o)
- Sons of the American Revolution
sar- South
S- Southeast
SE- Southwest
SW- South Carolina
SC- South Dakota
SD- s; suc
- Suite
STE
Succeeded
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- T -
- Tennessee
TN; tenn- Texas
TX; tex
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- U -
- United Daughters of the Confederacy
udc- United Empire Loyalist
uel
- United Parcel Service
ups
- United States (of America)
us (a)
- United States Postal Service (US Post Office)
USPS; US PO
- unmar
- Utah
UT
Unmarried
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- V -
- Vermont
VT- Virginia
VA- Virgin Islands
VI- Volume
v; vol
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- W -
- Washington
WA; wash- West Virginia
WV
- viv
- Widow/Widower (see relict)
wid
was then living
- Wife (of)
w(o)
- Will
wl
- Wisconsin
WI- without issue
- spl
- Without legitimate issue
- spl
- Without male issue
- spm
- Woodman of the World
wow
- World War
ww
- Wyoming
WY
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- X -
- (empty)
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- Y -
- (empty)
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- Z -
- (empty)
