Abbreviations · card A

Ala.

In a census birthplace column, Ala. is the abbreviation for Alabama.

Ala. is an older abbreviation of Alabama, used long before the two letter postal codes. Census takers were allowed to abbreviate state names in the place of birth column, so abbreviated state names are common in the birthplace column of nineteenth century census pages.

Ala. is the standard nineteenth century form. In handwriting it can look like Ga. or La., so compare carefully with other entries.

As seen in a recordBirthplace column of the 1870 census
Jas. Moore, 33, Ala.
How to cite this page

Daily Ancestor. "Ala.." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/abbreviations/ala. Last checked 2026-10-01.

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