Abbreviations Used In Genealogical Research

Below are some abbreviations you may run across in your ancestral research, excerpted from Abbreviations & Acronyms: A Guide for Family Historians, by Kip Sperry. (The Shops @ Ancestry.com)

als - alias
als/alsoe - "alius" (the second, also)
anie - adopted niece
av - "annos vixit" (he live [so many] years)
ba/bach - bachelor
B Boy - bound boy
B Girl - bound girl
bi-m - every two months
Bmot - boarder's mother
BorB - boarder's brother
BorC - boarder's child
BorD - boarder's daughter
BorG - boarder's grandson
BorN - boarder's niece
BorS - boarder's son
BorW - boarder's wife
bq - "bene quiescat" (may he rest well)
ca. - circa (approximately)
Cantab - "Cantabrigiensis" (of Cambridge)

CCBI - Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland, Inter-Church House, 35-41 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL

CGRS - Certified Genealogical Records Specialist (sm)
(Board for Certification of Genealogists, P.O. Box 14291, Washington, DC 20044).
One who has passed the rigorous tests administered in this specialty by BCG.
(Formerly known as Certified Genealogical Records Searcher.)

chan - (1) chancel (2) chancery
chyd - churchyard
Cmkr - cheesemaker
dom - date of marriage
dom - domicile
dom/domc/Dom - domestic
Dom - (1) "Dominica," Sunday (2) "dominus master" (used as a title)
Drgns - Dragoons
dunm - died unmarried
dto - ditto
dtr - (1) daughter (2) doctor
dy - died young
ead - "eadem" (in the same way)
ed cit - "editio citata" (edition cited) 
farr - farrier
FalD - father-in-law's daughter
FaLS - father-in-law's son
FaLW - father-in-law's wife
FaMo - farmer's mother
FHG - Fellow of the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies
Gren - Grenadier
grs/o or gr/s/o - grandson of
grv - grove
Hsil - half sister-in-law
ih - "iacet hic" (here lies)
i/m - Indian male
jn - (1) journeyman (2) journeymen
Jn - John
Ka or KIA - killed in action
kn - known
led - "ledig" (unmarried)
minr - (1) milliner (2) minor
nce - niece
nfr - no further reference or record found
ni - no issue
OhR - Ohio River
Overs - overseer(s)
p/o - parents of
q c - quit claim
qv/QV - "quod vide" (refer to; which see)
rcp - Roman Catholic priest
rel/o - relict of
roc - received on certificate
s and h - son and heir
sl/SL - (1) "sine loco" (without place) (2) slain (3) son-in-law
tb - tuberculosis
Td - "Tochter des," "Tochter der" (daughter of)
tpm - title page mutilated
U - (1) "ultimo" (last) (2) uncle (3) unstated
ut sup - "ut supra" (as above)
verl. - "verlobt" (engaged)
vid. - "viduus," "vidua" (widower, widow)
whsemn - warehouseman
Wmst - workmistress
XL - sister-in-law
YM - Yearly Meeting (Quakers)
Zeph - Zephaniah

Last Updated: 03.11.2021