Sage-Tips

How did they come up with the state abbreviations?

History. In 1831 and 1874, the United States Postal Service published a preferred list of state abbreviations. In 1963, the post office put into effect the five-digit ZIP Code which would be written after the state abbreviation. At this time, many state abbreviations were made up of four letters.

When did we start using 2 letter abbreviations for states?

To make room for the ZIP Code, state names needed to be abbreviated. The Department provided an initial list of abbreviations in June 1963, but many had three or four letters, which was still too long. In October 1963, the Department settled on the current two-letter abbreviations.

What were the old state abbreviations?

Old-Style U. S. State Abbreviations

Alabama	Ala.
California	Cal., Calif.
Colorado	Col., Colo.
Connecticut	Conn.
Delaware	Del.

How are state initials decided?

No two states may have the same abbreviation. Take the first two letters of the state name to form the abbreviation. Take the first and last letter of the state name to form the abbreviation.

Where did the names of each state come from?

Origin of State Names

Alabama	From the Alabama or Alibamu people, though the river was named first. Alabama comes from the Choctaw for “vegetation pickers,” in reference to local farming practices.
North Dakota	From the Dakota peoples.
Ohio	From a Seneca word meaning “great river”

What is the origin of acronym?

Acronym was created by combining acr- (“beginning” or “top”) with -onym (“name” or “word”). English speakers borrowed -onym from the Greek onyma (“name”) and acr- from the Greek akros (meaning “topmost, extreme”).

What states do you never abbreviate?

The names of eight states are never abbreviated in datelines or text: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. Memory aid: States with five or fewer letters, plus Alaska and Hawaii, are never abbreviated.

What letters do states not start with?

Well, my trivia-savvy friends, the answer is…Q. That’s right—50 different names, and not one of them contains the letter Q. Every other letter of our alphabet shows up at least once (well, unless you count these 6 letters that dropped out of our alphabet.)

How are initials formed?

Both acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations that are formed by combining the first letter of each word in a longer name or phrase. Typically, acronyms and initialisms are written in all capital letters to distinguish them from ordinary words.

What was the first US state to be named?

Delaware
In Dover, Delaware, the U.S. Constitution is unanimously ratified by all 30 delegates to the Delaware Constitutional Convention, making Delaware the first state of the modern United States.

When did the US Department of State start using two-letter abbreviations?

The Department provided an initial list of abbreviations in June 1963, but many had three or four letters, which was still too long. In October 1963, the Department settled on the current two-letter abbreviations.

Is the postal abbreviation the same as the Chicago Manual of style?

However, the Chicago Manual of Style now recommends use of the uppercase two-letter abbreviations, with the traditional forms as an option. The postal abbreviation is the same as the ISO 3166-2 subdivision code for each of the fifty states.

What are the US postal abbreviations for States?

Postal Abbreviations for States/Territories 1831 1874 1943 10/1963 – present Hawaii — — Hawaii HI Idaho — Idaho Idaho ID Illinois Il. Ill. Ill. IL Indiana Ia. Ind. Ind. IN

When did California get its state abbreviations?

State Abbreviations. The United States Official Postal Guide, first published in 1874, also provided lists of preferred spellings. Most of the abbreviations in use in 1874 were still in use in 1943, although new states and territories had been added, and the abbreviation for California had been lengthened, from “Cal.” to “Calif.”.