Acronyms and Abbreviations

There are many abbreviated words related to genealogy and family history research. Some are not easily found in many glossaries that are available. Here is a list of a few of these:

AF: Ancestral File; patron-contributed lineage-linked family information submitted to FamilySearch.org prior to 1991.

bap / chr: Baptized / Christened

BMD / BDM: Births, Marriages, and Deaths

c / ca. / circa: approximately (ex. "ca. 1535" means "in about 1535")

CNBL: Cannot Be Located

dob: Date of Birth

FHC: Family History Center (to find a Family History Center near you, click here)

FHL: Family History Library, largest genealogical library in the world. Located in Salt Lake City, Utah and sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

FHLC: Family History Library Catalog; searchable catalog of microfilm, fiche, books and periodicals available through FamilySearch.org.

GEDCOM: GEnealogical Data COMmunications (a file format for transferring family history data)

ill.: Illegitimate (often recorded on birth certificates and other birth records)

IGI: Inernational Genealogical Index

LDS: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

LOC: Library of Congress; Oldest cultural institution in the United States and the research arm of the US Congress. Digital collections include historic newspapers, photographs, family genealogies, biographies and other items of interest to family history researchers.

NARA: National Archives Records Administration; repository of official US government records including census, military, immigration, and other documents of interest to family history researchers.

PAF: Personal Ancestral File; freeware genealogy software available at FamilySearch.org.

PRF: Pedigree Resource File (a database within FamilySearch.org)

PRO: Public Records Office; National Archives repository for official public records (birth, marriage, death, census, etc.) for the United Kingdom.

SSDI: Social Security Death Index; master file of US death records reported to the Social Security Administartion available for free on-line through FamilySearch.org, ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com, genealogybank.com and other web sites.

External Links[edit | edit source]

Common Genealogical Acronyms -http://austega.com/familyhistory/courses/acronyms.htm
Association of Professional Genealogists: Abbreviations and Acronyms -http://www.apgen.org/resources/aa.html
Genealogical Acronyms and Glossary -http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~jimella/acronyms.htm
The A to Z of British Genealogical Research (The Emery Paper): Abbreviations - http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/EmeryPaper.html#Abbreviations
International Society of Genetic Genealogy's: DNA - Newbie Glossary -http://www.worldfamilies.net/glossary.html
List of abbreviations for English given names - Wikipedia - http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Abbreviations_for_English_given_names

Family History Library Resources[edit | edit source]

There are also books which give the definitions of many abbreviated words. One such book is "Abbreviations & Acronyms: a guide for family historians" compiled by Kip Sperry (FHL book US/Can 929.103Sp37a.)

Use a Title search for "abbreviations" in the Family History Library Catalog found on the www.familysearch.org website for other books which define abbreviations and acronyms such as: Acronyms, Initialisms, and Abbreviations Dictionary: a guide to acronyms, abbreviations, contractions, alphabetic symbols, and similar condensed appellations by Jennifer Mossman (FHL book US/Can 428.1 M855a v.1 pt.1 1995.)