Geography & Place Abbreviations

657 abbreviations in 12 subcategories

Postal codes for US states and Canadian provinces, ISO country codes, city nicknames, street-address suffixes and compass directions. Each entry gives the official form, where it is used (mail, data, sports, licence plates) and, where relevant, the traditional and AP-style abbreviations that differ from the two-letter postal codes.

• Country Code
• US State
• Address
• Region
• City and Neighborhood
• Geographic Feature
• US State Traditional
• Country Name
• Canadian Province and Territory
• Direction
• US Territory and Military Mail
• Australian State and Territory

Country Code Abbreviations

ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are the two-letter country codes maintained by the International Organization for Standardization and used in internet domains (.de, .jp), bank account numbers (IBANs), shipping and customs systems, passports, software settings and flag emoji. Many come from a country's own-language name, which is why Germany is DE, Spain ES and Switzerland CH. This list gives each code with its country, capital, domain and any notable quirks, plus the three-letter sports codes used by FIFA and the IOC where they differ from expectations. US territories such as PR and GU are listed with US territory abbreviations.

All 270 country code abbreviations →

US State Abbreviations

The 50 US states and the District of Columbia each have a two-letter postal code introduced by the Post Office Department in 1963, the year ZIP codes arrived. Postal codes are written in capitals without periods and belong in mailing addresses, forms and databases; edited prose that follows AP style uses traditional forms such as Calif. or Mass. in datelines and party labels, or spells the name out, and AP never abbreviates Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas or Utah. Chicago style generally prefers the postal codes whenever a state is abbreviated.

All 51 US state abbreviations →

Address Abbreviations

Street suffixes and unit designators in US addresses follow USPS Publication 28, which sets one standard abbreviation for each street type (AVE, BLVD, ST) and each secondary unit (APT, STE). The Postal Service prints them in capitals without periods, but mixed case such as Ave or Blvd is common and delivers fine. This list also covers post office boxes, rural and highway contract routes, ZIP codes, state and county road designations, and a few forms used in Canadian, British and Latin American addresses.

All 118 address abbreviations →

Region Abbreviations

Businesses, governments, statisticians and locals all abbreviate regions. Multinational companies split the world into sales regions such as EMEA, APAC and LATAM, statistical agencies define areas such as MSAs and NUTS regions, and residents shorten their own corners of the map to PNW, SoCal, the DMV or the UP. Definitions of business regions vary from company to company, so entries note the usual scope and common variants.

All 60 region abbreviations →

City and Neighborhood Abbreviations

Many cities and neighborhoods are known by initials or short coined names, from NYC and LA to SoHo, DTLA and CDMX. Some began as airport codes (PDX, ATL), some as real-estate branding (Nolita, NoMad) and some as local slang that spread through sports, music and social media. Entries explain where each name comes from and how locals use it.

All 59 city and neighborhood abbreviations →

Geographic Feature Abbreviations

Maps, atlases, road signs and place names abbreviate common landforms and features, such as Mt. for Mount, R. for River and Jct. for Junction, along with terms for coordinates, elevation and protected areas such as NP for National Park. Style guides differ: AP spells out Mount and Fort in place names, while maps abbreviate almost everything to fit their labels. Abbreviations used as street suffixes in mailing addresses are listed separately with address abbreviations.

All 46 geographic feature abbreviations →

US State Traditional Abbreviations

Before the 1963 two-letter postal codes, states were abbreviated with forms such as Calif., Mass. and Tenn., and these traditional abbreviations are still standard in edited writing. AP style uses them in datelines, photo captions and party labels (D-Calif.), the US Government Publishing Office manual and The Bluebook have their own slightly different lists, and none of them should appear on an envelope. This list covers the traditional forms whose letters differ from the postal code; forms such as Md., Ga. or N.Y. are explained on the postal code pages.

All 36 US state traditional abbreviations →

Country Name Abbreviations

Many countries are routinely written by their initials in news, diplomacy, sport and business, from USA and UK to DPRK and UAE. These forms usually come from the country's official long name rather than from ISO codes, and several historical states such as the USSR and the GDR are still best known by their abbreviations. Two-letter ISO codes such as US, DE or NZ are listed separately under country codes.

All 30 country name abbreviations →

Canadian Province and Territory Abbreviations

Canada's 10 provinces and three territories each have a two-letter symbol set by Canada Post, written in capitals without periods between the municipality and the six-character postal code (Ottawa ON K1A 0B6). Newspapers following Canadian Press style use traditional forms such as Ont., Que. and B.C. after city names, and some older two-letter forms such as PQ and NF have been replaced. The first letter of every postal code also identifies the province or territory.

All 26 Canadian province and territory abbreviations →

Direction Abbreviations

Compass directions are abbreviated with capital letters: N, S, E and W for the cardinal points, NE, NW, SE and SW for the intercardinal points, and three-letter forms such as NNE for the 16-point compass used in weather and sailing. The same letters appear in street addresses as directional prefixes and quadrant suffixes, and traffic reports use NB, SB, EB and WB for direction of travel. Wind directions always describe where the wind comes from.

All 23 direction abbreviations →

US Territory and Military Mail Abbreviations

US territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam have two-letter postal codes that work like state codes in addresses, and for the inhabited territories the same letters serve as their ISO 3166-1 country codes. This list also covers military and diplomatic mail: APO, FPO and DPO replace the city name, and AA, AE or AP replace the state, so mail to service members and embassy staff overseas travels at domestic rates through the Military Postal Service.

All 18 US territory and military mail abbreviations →

Australian State and Territory Abbreviations

Australia has six states and two mainland territories, each with a short abbreviation used in postal addresses, news, sport and government. Australia Post asks for the abbreviation in capitals without full stops after the suburb and before the four-digit postcode (Parramatta NSW 2150), while running text often uses mixed-case forms such as Qld, Vic. and Tas.

All 10 Australian state and territory abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.