Below are some common (and some not so common) abbreviations or acronyms you might come across during your genealogy research. Some of the terms below are used as quick-hand for genealogists and you’ll likely see in other people’s research notes or in family histories, while other terms may appear on sources like census records or naturalization papers.
| Abbreviation | Possible Meanings |
|---|---|
| ab. or abt. | about |
| Æ or ae | age |
| B | Black (race) |
| b or bn. | born, birth date |
| bap. or bp. | baptized |
| b. or bur. or bu. | burial date, buried |
| bef. | before |
| BIA | Bureau of Indian Affairs |
| bet. | between |
| bro. or br. | brother |
| BLM | Bureau of Land Management |
| BLW | Bounty Land Warrant |
| BMD | "birth, marriage, death" |
| C. or ca. | estimated date, or "circa", ca.1862 |
| cem. | cemetery |
| chr. | christened |
| ch. or chh. | church |
| civ. | civil |
| cm or cms | centimorgans (dna term) |
| co. | county or company |
| conf. | confirmed |
| d. | died |
| dau. | daughter |
| dec'd | deceased |
| div. | divorced |
| do | ditto, same as above |
| d/o or s/o | daughter of, son of |
| dsp. | died without issue or children |
| d.y. | died young |
| est. | estimated or established or estate |
| et. ux. | also "et uxor" or "and wife" in legal docs |
| et. al. | indicates presence of other names not listed |
| fam. | family |
| gdn. | guardian |
| gr. | great or grand |
| hon. | Honorable |
| husb. | husband |
| ibid. | ibidem, meaning "in the same place" |
| id or Id | same |
| inf. | infant or infantry |
| inst. | instant, referring to the date as the same month mentioned earlier |
| int. | intention, as intention of marriage |
| JP | Justice of the Peace |
| liv. | living |
| LPC | likely public charge |
| Lo. | Lord (common before 1800) |
| m. or mar. or md. | married date, can show as m1, m2 for first marriage, second marriage, etc. |
| mil. | military |
| mo. | month |
| na. or nat. or natz. | naturalized |
| n.d. or n.d.k. | no date known or available |
| nee or née | identifies a women's maiden name |
| N.S. | New Style, Gregorian calendar |
| n.p. | no place |
| ob. | for latin term "obit" meaning deceased |
| o.c. | only child |
| O.S. | Old Style, Julian calendar |
| o.t.p. | of this parish |
| p.r. | parish register |
| pr. | proved or probated |
| prob. | probably or estimated |
| pvt. | military rank of private |
| R.C. | Roman Catholic |
| rec'd | received |
| rect. | receipt |
| reg. | register, or regular |
| ret. | retired |
| Rev. | Reverend |
| R.R. | railroad |
| s | son, sometimes shown as "s/o" for "son of" |
| S.I. | special inquiry |
| sic. | shows that an incorrect or mispelled term has been copied exactly as the original |
| soc. | society |
| twp. | township |
| ult. | ultimate, refers to the previous month |
| unk. | unknown |
| unm. | unmarried |
| USB | U.S. born |
| USC | United States Citizen |
| wit. | witness |
| w. | wife or widow or will |
| w / o | wife of |
The list above is based on my own recollection and notes.
You may also see abbreviations for lineage membership groups like DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) or for professional genealogy groups like BCG (Board for Certification of Genealogists).
See also: Formatting and Glossary and Handwriting
Still unsure what a term means or have more abbreviations to share? We’d love to hear from you: