This is a listing of acronyms, abbreviations, file types, and definitions that you may come across when working with genealogy software and research.
Note: If you are looking for a genealogy file name/extension, please see the filename/extension page!
Last Updated: 26 Sep 2024 (changelog)
| Term | Definition/Explanation |
|---|---|
| ABNF | Augmented Backus-Naur Form see GEDCOM 7 and RFC 5234 and RFC 7405 |
| AFN | Ancestral File Number - number used to identify records in Ancestral File, a FamilySearch database/program. |
| AIS | Accelerated Indexing System (FamilySearch term?) |
| .avi | Windows movie/video file. |
| BIRL | Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem |
| BK | Brother's Keeper - a genealogy program |
| BMD | Birth, Marriage, Death - records |
| BOM | Byte Order Mark is a special Unicode character code, "whose appearance as a magic number at the start of a text stream can signal several things to a program reading the text" (Wikipedia) |
| CD | Compact Disc - optical disc that could store 650MB of data |
| CL, Cl, CLI | Command-line Interface, used by some DOS programs, as well as various Linux or Unix-based OSes (macOS, etc.). |
| .DAT | Data file (generic file name extension used by many programs). Try opening with a text editor. |
| Database | In terms of this website, we use the common definition that a database is a structured set of data/information that can be accessed in various ways (charts, tables/lists, etc.). Most genealogy programs fall under this definition (otherwise they would be considered "utilities", see "Utility" below). And a file, such as a GEDCOM file, could be considered a database. |
| .DMG | Disk Image file (Mac) |
| DOS | Disk Operating System - MS-DOS, PC-DOS, etc. running on x86 hardware (Windows-compatible later on) |
| EOL | End of Life - Discontinuation of things such as support for certain software or hardware platforms. |
| EXE | Executable File (Windows, DOS) |
| FAT-32 | File Allocation Table, 32-bit filesystem used by Microsoft Operating Systems |
| FAV | Family Archive Viewer - used for viewing Family Archive and World Family Tree CDs |
| FGRC | Family Group Records Collection |
| FH | Family Historian - a genealogy program |
| FHC | Family History Center |
| FHL | Family History Library |
| FHLC | Family History Library Catalog |
| FHU / FHUG | Family Historian Users Group |
| FTM | Family Tree Maker - a genealogy program |
| GDPR | European General Data Protection Regulation - law in the European Union governing personal data and privacy. See the Wikipedia entry for more details. |
| GEDCOM | Genealogy Data Communication - pseudo-open specification for exchanging genealogy data between genealogy programs. These can be opened up with text editors since it is technically a text file). |
| GENDEX | GENealogical inDEX File: Specification to export the index of a genealogical home page or GEDCOM file to a global name index service, using a GENDEX.txt file - lists all individuals in the GECOM file with birth/death details only. |
| Genogram | Graphic representation of a family tree |
| GGS | Generations Grande Suite |
| .GIF | Graphics Interchange Format, GIF file, graphic file. |
| GNTP | Genealogy Network Transfer Protocol - a never-finished/realized peer-to-peer network for sharing genealogy information (GEDCOM files) |
| groups.io | Online service that many genealogists and genealogy software user groups are using after RootsWeb began shutting down earlier in 2020. |
| GSDS | Genealogy Software Distribution System |
| GSP | Global Software Publishing Limited - published various genealogy books and software. |
| .HQX | BinHex archive file. |
| IGI | International Genealogical Index |
| .JPG | JPG or JPEG graphics file. |
| LDS | Latter Day Saints - abbreviation that is sometimes used/seen within genealogy circles and or options within software. |
| .LHA / .LHZ | Archive format (formerly LHArc) |
| .LZX | Another archive format, used with Amiga and Microsoft Ones. |
| MFT | MacFamilyTree |
| MPRU | MacPAF Report Utility |
| NFS | New FamilySearch. For more information, see this article - Legacy NFS Sources on FamilySearch (FamilyHistoryFanatics.com) |
| PAF | Personal Ancestral File - a genealogy program |
| PC | Personal Computer - can apply to Apple II, Commodore 64, etc., but these days generally refers to Windows-compatible, and back in the day meant "IBM-Compatible" with either Windows or DOS. |
| PRF | Pedigree Resource File - Collection of User-Submitted Genealogies - Distributed on CD, later online. |
| Program | A genealogy program is a program that allows for the entry of genealogy information. Otherwise it is a utility (see Utility below). This includes the creation or handling of a "database" of genealogy information (see "Database" above). |
| RIN | Record Identification Number - RINs are assigned by Personal Ancestral File to each individual record. Differentiates between people with same name. |
| RM | RootsMagic - a genealogy program |
| .SEA | Self-Extracting Archive (Mac archive file) |
| .SIT | Stuffit file - Mac archive file, can be opened with Finder. |
| Stamboom | Dutch for "Pedigree" |
| Tiny Tafel | "a compact way of describing the main surnames found in a family genealogy, which can be read by humans and matched by computers using a Tafel Matching System.[2] The Tiny Tafel lists the Soundex encoded representation of each surname (to allow for matching surnames with spelling variations), accompanied by a corresponding range of dates and locations associated with the surname" |
| TMG | The Master Genealogist - a genealogy program |
| .TXT/.TEXT | Text file, can be opened with most text editors and word processors. |
| Tree Pruning | A feature some programs have that allows you to remove in an ancestor or descendant tree/chart and see a common lineage. |
| UFT | |
| Utility | A utility, whether it's related directly to genealogy (such as GEDCOM handling) or not, is a program that does not directly involve entering genealogy information. |
| .WAV | Wave sound/audio file. |
| WFT | World Family Tree - CDs of archived, user-submitted/created family trees. |
| WP | WordPerfect - a very popular word processor back in the day. |
| .ZIP | Zip or Zipped archive file, can be opened by the file browsers/Finder of most modern operating systems. Frequently used to send large numbers of files through email in years past. PKZip was the most popular utility back then. |
Changelog:
- 26 Dec 2024 – Added BIRL
- 29 Sep 2024 – Added AIS, FGRC, FHC, FHL, FHLC,
- 26 Sep 2024 – Added ABNF