User:B1tw153/United States/Name and Address Formatting
 Part of United States mapping project.
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This page provides guidelines for formatting Names and Addresses in the United States, supplementing the general OSM guidelines with information specific to the US.
Guidelines for Names
Abbreviations
Spell out abbreviations in names except where the official name uses the abbreviation. For example, "Jennings Cty Community Bldg" should be expanded to "Jennings County Community Building" but "Jos. A. Bank" is a trademark that should remain abbreviated.
| Abbreviation | Expansion | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Acc | Access | |
| Aly | Alley | |
| Arc | Arcade | |
| Av | Avenue | |
| Ave | Avenue | |
| Bldg | Building | |
| Blf | Bluff | |
| Blvd | Boulevard | |
| Bnd | Bend | |
| Br | Bridge | |
| Brg | Bridge | |
| Byp | Bypass | |
| CR | County Road | |
| Cir | Circle | |
| Co | County or Company | |
| Cr | Creek | |
| Cres | Crescent | |
| Cswy | Causeway | |
| Ct | Court | |
| Ctr | Center | |
| Cty | County or City | |
| Cv | Cove | |
| Dept | Department | |
| Dr | Drive or Doctor | Retain the abbreviation if it is part of a person's name, e.g., Dr William H Edison Memorial Hospital |
| Dr | Drive | |
| E | East | |
| ES | Elementary School | |
| Elem | Elementary | |
| Est | Estate | |
| Expwy | Expressway | |
| Expy | Expressway | |
| FD | Fire Department | |
| Flds | Fields | |
| Fmrd | Farm to Market Road | |
| Fs Road | Forest Service Road | |
| Fwy | Freeway | |
| Gd | Grade | |
| Grd | Grade | |
| Grv | Grove | |
| Hbr | Harbor | |
| Holw | Hollow | |
| Hosp | Hospital | |
| Hts | Heights" | |
| Hw | Highway | |
| Hwy | Highway | |
| Jr | Junior | Retain the abbreviation if it is part of a person's name, e.g., Martin Luther King Jr Junior High School |
| Ln | Lane | |
| Lndg | Landing | |
| Lp | Loop | |
| MS | Middle School | |
| Mal | Mall | |
| Med Center | Medical Center | |
| Mt | Mount | |
| Mtn | Mountain | |
| Mtwy | Motorway | |
| N | North | |
| NE | Northeast | |
| NW | Northwest | |
| Ovps | Overpass | |
| PS | Police Station | |
| Pkwy | Parkway | |
| Pky | Parkway | |
| Pl | Place | |
| Plz | Plaza | |
| Pvt | Private | |
| RMRd | Ranch to Market Road | |
| Rd | Road | |
| Rdg | Ridge | |
| Rmrd | Ranch to Market Road | |
| Rte | Route | |
| S | South | |
| SE | Southeast | |
| Sch | School | |
| Skwy | Skyway | |
| Sq | Square | |
| Sr | Senior | Retain the abbreviation if it is part of a person's name, e.g., Martin Luther King Sr Senior High School |
| Srvc | Service | |
| St | Saint | Retain the abbreviation if it is part of a surname, e.g., St. Clair Township (named after Arthur St. Clair). |
| St | Street | |
| Strv | Stravenue | |
| Ter | Terrace | |
| Tfwy | Trafficway | |
| Thfr | Thoroughfare | |
| Thwy | Throughway | |
| Thwy | Thruway | |
| Tl | Trail | |
| Tpke | Turnpike | |
| Tr | Trail | |
| Trce | Trace | |
| Trl | Trail | |
| Tunl | Tunnel | |
| Unp | Underpass | |
| Vly | Valley | |
| Vw | View | |
| W | West | |
| Wkwy | Walkway | |
| Wy | Way | |
| Crossing |
Apostrophes
Use apostrophes only where they are present in a definitive source for the name.
| Example | Notes |
|---|---|
| Lake o' the Woods | Apostrophe denoting an omitted letter |
| O'Malley Hollow | Apostrophe normally used in a proper name |
| Sheriff's Office or Marshal's Office | Apostrophes in names of administrative or man-made geographic features |
| Saint Vincent's Hospital | Apostrophe denoting possession |
| Physicians Medical Center | Do not use an apostrophe to denote plural rather than possession |
Punctuation
Use punctuation only where it is present in a definitive source for the name.
Capitalization
Use Wikipedia title case capitalization for names except where the capitalization in the official name differs.
| Example | Notes |
|---|---|
| East High School | |
| Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center | A short preposition or article is not capitalized unless it is the first word |
| Canyon de la Sierras Middle School | Non-English words use the same capitalization rules as English words |
| The Ohio State University | The first word is always capitalized |
| eBay or Vista Del Mar Middle School | Use the official capitalization of trademarks or other official names that differ from standard title case |
Consistency
Follow the local naming conventions for similar features.
| Example | Preferred |
|---|---|
| Denver Fire Department Station 23 | Denver Fire Department Station 23 |
| Denver Fire Department 24 | Denver Fire Department Station 24 |
| Denver FD, Station 1 | Denver Fire Department Station 1 |
| U.S. Post Office, Sanford | Sanford Post Office |
| United States Post Office Rocky Ford CO | Rocky Ford Post Office |
| Shawnee PO | Shawnee Post Office |
| US Post Office | Not a valid name. It should be formatted with the location name (as found on USPS.com) + "Post Office" as seen in the preferred examples. |
Government Buildings
Use the name of the building as listed in a definitive source.
| Locality | Government Building |
|---|---|
| Lincoln, Nebraska | Lincoln County/City Building |
| Naperville, Illinois | Naperville Municipal Center |
| Village of Quincy, Michigan | Quincy Village Hall |
| Wayne Township, New Jersey | Wayne Town Hall |
| Madeira, Ohio | Madeira Municipal Building |
| Whitewater Township, Ohio | Whitewater Senior/Community Center |
| Jackson, Mississippi | Jackson City Hall |
Guidelines for Addresses
Abbreviations
Spell out abbreviations in addresses except where the official name uses the abbreviation. For instance, rural state-maintained highways in South Dakota in some but not all counties are named "SD Highway ##" and "US Highway ##" with both the SD and US abbreviated.
| Abbreviation | Expansion |
|---|---|
| Av | Avenue |
| Ave | Avenue |
| Blvd | Boulevard |
| Byp | Bypass |
| Cnty | County |
| CR | County Road |
| Ct | Court |
| Cv | Cove |
| Dr | Drive |
| E | East |
| Hwy | Highway |
| I | Interstate |
| Int | Interstate |
| N | North |
| NE | Northeast |
| NW | Northwest |
| Pl | Place |
| Pkwy | Parkway |
| Rd | Road |
| Rdg | Ridge |
| RT | Route |
| Rte | Route |
| S | South |
| SE | Southeast |
| SR | State Road |
| St | Street |
| SW | Southwest |
| Terr | Terrace |
| TSR | Township Road |
| W | West |
Street Name Variations
Use the name as it is given by the local naming authority or an authoritative source.
| Example |
|---|
| Third Street |
| 3rd Street |
| 3 Street |
Interstate, State, County, and Local Highway Names
Spell out these names to expand all abbreviations and capitalize each word. When the name of a state is used as a portion of the street or highway name, used the standard two-letter abbreviation for the state. However, when the state name is the complete street or highway name, such as "Oklahoma Avenue," then the state name should be spelled out completely.
| Example | Preferred |
|---|---|
| COUNTY HIGHWAY 140 | County Highway 140 |
| County Hwy 60E | County Highway 60E |
| Cnty Hwy 20 | County Highway 20 |
| County Rd 441 | County Road 441 |
| COUNTY ROAD 110 | County Road 110 |
| CR 1185 | County Road 1185 |
| CNTY RD 33 | County Road 33 |
| CA County Rd 150 | CA County Road 150 |
| California County Road 555 | CA County Road 555 |
| Expy 55 | Expressway 55 |
| FM 1200 | Farm to Market Road 1200 |
| Hwy FM 1320 | Farm to Market Road 1320 |
| Highway 101 | Highway 101 |
| Hiway 1080a | Highway 1080A |
| Hwy 64 | Highway 64 |
| Hwy 11 Byp | Highway 11 Bypass |
| Hwy 66 Frontage Rd | Highway 66 Frontage Road |
| Highway 3 Byp Road | Highway 3 Bypass Road |
| I10 | Interstate 10 |
| I-40 | Interstate 40 |
| I 580 | Interstate 580 |
| IH280 | Interstate 280 |
| Interstate Hwy 680 | Interstate 680 |
| I 55 Byp | Interstate 55 Bypass |
| I 26 Byp Road | Interstate 26 Bypass Road |
| I 44 Frontage Rd | Interstate 44 Frontage Road |
| Loop 410 | Loop 410 |
| Rd 5a | Road 5a |
| Road 22 | Road 22 |
| Rt 88 | Route 88 |
| Rte 95 | Route 95 |
| Route 1150EE | Route 1150EE |
| Ranch Rd 620 | Ranch Road 620 |
| St Highway 303 | State Highway 303 |
| State Hwy 60 | State Highway 60 |
| SR 220 | State Road 220 or State Route 220 |
| St Rd 86 | State Road 86 |
| State Road 55 | State Road 55 |
| SR MM | State Route MM |
| St Rt 175 | State Route 175 |
| State Rte 260 | State Route 260 |
| Township Rd 20 | Township Road 20 |
| TSR 45 | Township Road 45 |
| US 41 SW | US Highway 41 Southwest |
| US Hwy 44 | US Highway 44 |
| US Highway 70 | US Highway 70 |
| Kentucky 440 | KY Highway 440 |
| Kentucky Highway 189 | KY Highway 189 |
| KY 1207 | KY Highway 1207 |
| KY Hwy 75 | KY Highway 75 |
| KY St Hwy 1 | KY State Highway 1 |
| Ky State Highway 24 | KY State Highway 24 |
| Kentucky State Highway 625 | KY State Highway 625 |
TIGER Abbreviations
The names in TIGER data files are abbreviated and while many of these abbreviations should have been expanded in the TIGER fixup, there may still be some abbreviations in OSM that originated from TIGER data. For a complete list of abbreviations used in TIGER data and their expanded forms, refer to the TIGER/Line Files Technical Documentation.
USPS Abbreviations
USPS Publication 28 lists street suffix abbreviations used in postal addressing and their associated expansions, and a similar table for Spanish language street suffixes.
Publication 28 also has a table of exemplary standardized names for county, state, and local highways but USPS uses abbreviations where the name should be fully expanded in OSM.