Beat the clock to guess the twoletter abbreviation for each selected state. Modern twoletter abbreviated codes for the states and territories originated in october 1963. To avoid duplications, some abbreviations are not intuitive. There are basically five rulespatterns to state abbreviations, with what appears to be one exception, but even that makes sense. He and his wife, chris woolwinemoen, produced thousands of awardwinning maps that are used all over the world and content that aids students, teachers, travelers and parents with their geography and map questions. Two letter state abbreviations of the united states test. When did state abbreviations change to two letters. Several sets of codes and abbreviations are used to represent the political divisions of the. Printable state abbreviations 50 states with list free. They were created to fill that spot, and that is where they belong. State abbreviations and state postal codes fact monster. Standard 2letter abbreviations united states and its siue. Pct contracting states and twoletter codes 153 on 1 april 2020 1 extension of european patent possible. Choose from 298 different sets of 2 states letter abbreviations flashcards on quizlet.
Standard 2letter abbreviations united states and its. In october 1963, the department settled on the current twoletter abbreviations. These twoletter, no period, state abbreviations are recommended by the u. Twoletter abbreviations for canadian provinces and. Postal service and should always be used where a zip code follows. For example, they can be used in writing after a city like in miami, fla. The largest state by area is alaska, with the territory of 665,384 square miles.
Print off a list of all 50 state and their abbreviations as a wall chart. The twoletter abbreviations can be complicated since numerous state names begin with the same letter. There are 50 states in the united states, 4 of which are using the term of commonwealth in. The department provided an initial list of abbreviations in june 1963, but many had three or four letters, which was still too long. The traditional abbreviations are still commonly used in other ways besides mailing addresses. Keep in mind that the twoletter abbreviations also apply to u. How to convert full state names to abbreviations in excel. If you have kutools for excel, with its lookup from right to left utility, you can return the abbreviations or full state names from the original state name and abbrev table quickly and easily. At first, it was made up of a piece from virginia south of the potomac river and a piece from maryland north of the potomac river.
The postal service style of twoletter state, province, and freely associated state abbreviations is to be used. The twoletter states abbreviations in us excelnotes. A list of state abbreviations since 1831 is provided at right. It may consist of a group of letters, lower case letters do count or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase, for example, the word abbreviation can itself be represented by the abbreviation abbr. Use only the twocharacter codes listed in these tables. State, province, and territory codes for the united states. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. If you follow the older practice, be consistent in your use of the traditional abbreviations, and remember that eight states. Printable state abbreviations us map with save united states. Since the postal service instituted zip codes and their accompanying state postal codes in 1963, the twoletter abbreviations have steadily gained popularity. This table is a handy tool for students, business people, and letterwriters alike. Pct contracting states and twoletter codes 153 on 1. Appendix e twoletter abbreviations for canadian provinces and territories and u.
Twoletter state and possession abbreviations use the abbreviations below when addressing mail. Learn 2 states letter abbreviations with free interactive flashcards. To make room for the zip code, state names needed to be abbreviated. State of illinois department of children and family services twoletter state abbreviations as authorized by u. Postal and traditional state abbreviations reference guide. The twoletter postal abbreviation system is complicated by the fact that several state names begin with the same letter e. Some writers and editors still prefer to use the older forms of state abbreviations see traditional abbreviations in the table below, though this is rare. Or, if youre feeling confident, try our postal codes quiz. It is time to amend the illogical state of postal abbreviations. Circle the letters in the state name that make up each postal abbreviation as in the example. Other united states america two letter state abbreviations more. When did twoletter state abbreviations become standard.
Suppose that the set of big rams we use are the fifty official state abbreviations. Each slide shows a picture of the state, state abbreviation, and states full name with letters underlined to demonstrate how it was abbreviated. An abbreviation from latin brevis, meaning short is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. I made a failing grade on a united states map when i was a sixthgrader 1964 because i used an informational document from the post office to label the states. Two letter state abbreviations of the united states. In 1987, the secretary of commerce switched to the more commonly used twoletter postal code abbreviations.
Learn the states and postal abbreviations five js homeschool. The place for twoletter state abbreviations is on envelopes between the city and the zip code. In 1987, the secretary of commerce switched to the twoletter state alpha code for state abbreviations. The two letter postal abbreviation system is complicated by the fact that several state names begin with the same letter e. As you know, there are 50 states in the united states of america. No two united states states, or canadian provinces, can have the same abbreviation. As is the abbreviation for american samoa and ab is the abbreviation for alberta. State abbreviations are all two letters, and these two letters are always capitalized without any periods. John moen is a cartographer who along with his wife are the orignal founders of.
Appendix b twoletter state and possession abbreviations. Printable state abbreviations alphabetical states best of alphabet ceiimage org. International programs two letter state abbreviations. I made this country name abbreviation list because, simply, i got tired of doing a search for one the infrequent times i needed it. List of us states with abbreviations, capitals and nicknames. In business writing and journalism, when you refer to a state in text rather than a chart, always spell it out. State, province, and territory codes for the united states and canada the following tables provide the twocharacter state, province, and territory codes for the united states and canada. Though it is usually preferable to write out the full name, space constraints often require use of an abbreviation. When the first letter in two abbreviations match, then the second letter should be used to determine alphabetical order. Abbreviations and letter symbols abbreviations and.
For example, two state names begin with the word north, four with the word new, and eight with the letter n. Note the comma between the city and the state name, and another one following the state name. This 2letter country name abbreviation table is for me. State and territory abbreviations boy scouts of america. Post office al alabama mt montana ak alaska nb nebraska az arizona nv nevada ar arkansas nh new hampshire ca california nj new jersey co colorado nm new mexico. Many times the state abbreviations are simply the first and last letter of that state such as california ca or maryland md, these are fairly easy to remember. For convenience, each column is also provided in its own.
I hate the post offices twoletter state abbreviations. All state abbreviations start with the first letter of the states name. United states postal abbreviations for states, military, commonwealths, and territories. Printable state abbreviations and states worksheet practice activty. Hang it next to your desk, and youll never again confuse the postal code al for alaska instead of alabama. This page provides and overview of the nonresident alien tax withholding tool. Fill in the correct united states postal service usps twoletter abbreviation for each state and then complete the map on the next page. Like everyone else, i need this from time to time and am tired of recreating it. These official state abbreviations have all been standardized by the united states postal service. In this quick guide to state abbreviations, i will cover the differences between ap style and chicago style andjust to prolong your state of confusionwhen to use the common twoletter abbreviations created by the united states postal service if youre writing a research paper or dashing off a blog post, you can probably ignore all the exceptions and special cases and just lean on. These abbreviations short names were used in mailing addresses before the introduction of twoletter u. Nearly half a million residents call denver, colorado, home. For example, al alabama would come before az arizona.
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