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A street suffix is the part of a street or road name that describes what type of road it is. Examples include "street", "avenue", "lane", "highway", and "drive". As they are commonly repeated between roads, they are often
abbreviated An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening, contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened form of a word, usually ended with a trailing per ...
; for example, "St." instead of "Street". The way street suffixes are used varies around the world.


United Kingdom

In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, some councils maintain lists of locally approved suffixes for new roads.


Example

For example, Haringey Council in London provides this guidance: However other suffixes may be used elsewhere in the UK (for example "Terrace" and "Green" are common), and it is by no means unusual for a street to be called by a name alone, without any suffix. It is also common for different streets in the same immediate area to have the same name but to be distinguished by different suffixes. It is also common for a street to have more than one suffix (e.g. "Park Gardens" or "Meadow Road". In Wales it is common to use Welsh-language suffixes (which actually usually precede the name) such as Ffordd, Heol, Stryd, Cae. Some of the limitations used by Haringey are not relevant elsewhere, for example "lane" is often used for a minor rural road between fields, perhaps with no houses, and "way" is sometimes used for minor residential roads.


Allowed

* ''Road'' for any thoroughfare * ''Street'' for any thoroughfare * ''Way'' for major roads * ''Avenue'' for residential roads, typically tree-lined * ''Drive'' for residential roads * ''Lane'' for residential roads * ''Grove'' for residential roads, usually a
cul-de-sac A dead end, also known as a ''cul-de-sac'' (; , ), a no-through road or a no-exit road, is a street with only one combined inlet and outlet. Dead ends are added to roads in urban planning designs to limit traffic in residential areas. Some d ...
* ''Gardens'' subject to there being no confusion with any local open space * ''Place'' subject to there being no confusion with any local open space * ''Circus'' for a Circus or for a large roundabout * ''Crescent'' for a crescent-shaped road * ''Bypass'' for a dual carriageway or motorway that bypasses a nearby village, city or town * ''Close'' for a
cul-de-sac A dead end, also known as a ''cul-de-sac'' (; , ), a no-through road or a no-exit road, is a street with only one combined inlet and outlet. Dead ends are added to roads in urban planning designs to limit traffic in residential areas. Some d ...
only * ''Square'' for a square only * ''Hill'' for a hillside road only * ''Mews'' provided it does not repeat the name of the road from which access is gained * ''Vale'' for residential roads (only for exceptional circumstances) * ''Rise/Row'' for residential roads (only for exceptional circumstances) * ''Mead/Wharf'' for residential roads (only for exceptional circumstances)


Disallowed (but common in other parts of the UK)

* ''End'' * ''Court'' * ''Cross'' * ''Side'' * ''View'' * ''Walk'' * ''Park'' * ''Meadow'' * ''Green'' * ''Quadrant'' * ''Gate'' * ''Gait'' * ''Wynd''


Regional variations

* ''Brow'', in
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...
* ''Brae'', in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
* ''Shute'', on the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...


Mainland Europe

A few points of note on street suffixes in mainland
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
: * In some languages the "street suffix" precedes the name and is thus a "street prefix" (''rue Pasteur'') * In some languages the street suffix is not a separate word but is included in the same word as the rest of the name (''Marktstraße''). This can sometimes be confusing to the uninitiated, especially if the main part of the name has more than one word, e.g. ''Frederik Hendriklaan'' * In some countries, occasionally a phrase is used instead of a suffix, e.g. ''Auf dem Hügel'' for Hill Street * In some bilingual countries, multiple-language suffixes might appear at the same time in one street name phrase, to avoid repeating the main name, e.g. in Belgium ''rue Van der Schrickstraat'' (instead of being double billed as ''rue Van der Schrick'' / ''Van der Schrickstraat'')


United States

Many local governments now require a street-name suffix to comply with emergency telephone rules intended to avoid spoken confusion, e.g. spoken Broadway could be misidentified as Broad Way. Notwithstanding this, some street names historically and linguistically do not carry a suffix, e.g. Broadway, Rampart, Embarcadero. This list below has examples of suffix forms that are primary street suffix names, common street suffixes or suffix abbreviations, recommended by the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
. Commonly used street abbreviations are within parentheses. *Alley (Allee, Ally, or Aly) *Annex (Anex, Annx, or Anx) *Arcade (Arc) *Avenida *Avenue (Av, Ave, Aven, Avenu, Avn, or Avnue) *Bayou (Bayoo or Byu) *Beach (Bch) *Bend (Bnd) *Bluff (Bluf or Blf) *Bluffs (Blfs) *Bottom (Bot, Bottm, or Btm) *Boulevard (Boul, Boulv, Bld, Blv, or Blvd) *Branch (Brnch or Br) *Bridge (Brdge or Brg) *Brook (Brk) *Brooks (Brks) *Burg (Bg) *Burgs (Bgs) *Bypass (Bypa, Bypas, Byps, or Byp) *Calle *Camino *Camp (Cmp or Cp) *Canyon (Canyn, Cnyn, or Cyn) *Cape (Cpe) *Causeway (Causwa or Cswy) *Center (Cen, Cent, Centr, Centre, Cnter, Cntr, or Ctr) *Centers (Ctrs) *Circle (Circ, Circl, Crcl, Crcle, or Cir) *Circles (Cirs) *Cliff (Clf) *Cliffs (Clfs) *Club (Clb) *Common (Cmn) *Commons (Cmns) *Corner (Cor) *Corners (Cors) *Course (Crse) *Court (Ct) *Courts (Cts) *Cove (Cv) *Coves (Cvs) *Creek (Crk) *Crescent (Crsent, Crsnt, or Cres) *Crest (Crst) *Crossing (Crssng or Xing) *Crossroad (Xrd) *Curve (Curv) *Dale (Dl) *Dam (Dm) *Divide (Div, Dvd, or Dv) *Drive (Driv, Drv, or Dr) *Drives (Drs) *Estate (Est) *Estates (Ests) *Expressway (Exp, Expr, Express, Expw, Expwy, or Expy) *Extension (Extn, Extnsn, or Ext) *Extensions (Exts) *Fall *Falls (Fls) *Ferry (Frry or Fry) *Field (Fld) *Fields (Flds) *Flat (Flt) *Flats (Flts) *Ford (Frd) *Fords (Frds) *Forest (Frst) *Forge (Forg or Frg) *Forges (Frgs) *Fork (Frk) *Forks (Frks) *Fort (Frt or Ft) *Freeway (Freewy, Frway, Frwy, or Fwy) *Garden (Gardn, Grden, Grdn, or Gdn) *Gardens (Gdns) *Gateway (Gatewy, Gatway, Gtway, Gtwy) *Glen (Gln) *Glens (Glns) *Green (Grn) *Greens (Grns) *Grove (Grov or Grv) *Groves (Grvs) *Harbor (Harb, Harbr, Hrbor, or Hbr) *Harbors (Hbrs) *Haven (Hvn) *Heights (Hts) *Highway (Highwy, Hiway, Hiwy, Hway, or Hwy) *Hill (Hl) *Hills (Hls) *Hollow (Hllw, Holw, or Holws) *Inlet (Inlt) *Island (Is) *Islands (Iss) *Isle *Junction (Jction, Jctn, Junctn, Juncton, or Jct) *Junctions (Jcts) *Key (Ky) *Keys (Kys) *Knoll (Knol or Knl) *Knolls (Knls) *Lake (Lk) *Lakes (Lks) *Land *Landing (Lndng or Lndg) *Lane (La or Ln) *Light (Lgt) *Lights (Lgts) *Loaf (Lf) *Lock (Lck) *Locks (Lcks) *Lodge (Ldge, Lodg, or Ldg) *Loop (Lp) *Mall *Manor (Mnr) *Manors (Mnrs) *Meadow (Mdw) *Meadows (Medows or Mdws) *Mews *Mill (Ml) *Mills (Mls) *Mission (Msn) *Motorway (Mtwy) *Mount (Mt) *Mountain (Mtn) *Mountains (Mtns) *Neck (Nck) *Orchard (Orchrd or Orch) *Oval (Ovl) *Overlook (Ovlk) *Overpass (Opas) *Park (Prk) *Parks (Park) *Parkway (Parkwy, Pkway, Pky, or Pkwy) *Parkways (Pkwys) *Pass *Passage (Psge) *Path *Pike (Pk) *Pine (Pne) *Pines (Pnes) *Place (Pl) *Plain (Pln) *Plains (Plns) *Plaza (Plza or Plz) *Point (Pt) *Points (Pts) *Port (Prt) *Ports (Prts) *Prairie (Prr or Pr) *Radial (Rad, Radiel, or Radl) *Ramp (Rmp) *Ranch (Rnch or Rnchs) *Rapid (Rpd) *Rapids (Rpds) *Rest (Rst) *Ridge (Rdge or Rdg) *Ridges (Rdgs) *River (Rvr, Rivr, or Riv) *Road (Rd) *Roads (Rds) *Route (Rte) *Row *Rue *Run *Shoal (Shl) *Shoals (Shls) *Shore (Shr) *Shores (Shrs) *Skyway (Skwy) *Spring (Spng, Sprng, or Spg) *Springs (Spgs) *Spur *Square (Sqr, Sqre, Squ, or Sq) *Squares (Sqs) *Station (Statn, Stn, or Sta) *Strasse (the German word for ''street'', used in Summit Park, Utah and one road in Niederwald, Texas) * Stravenue (Strav, Straven, Stravn, Strvn, Strvnue, or Stra; unique to
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
) *Stream (Streme or Strm) *Street (Str, Strt, or St) *Streets (Sts) *Summit (Sumit, Sumitt, or Smt) *Terrace (Terr or Ter) *Throughway (Trwy) *Trace (Trce) *Track (Trak, Trk, or Trks) *Trafficway (Trfy) *Trail (Trl) *Trailer (Trlr) *Tunnel (Tunl) *Turnpike (Trnpk, Turnpk, or Tpke) *Underpass (Upas) *Union (Un) *Unions (Uns) *Valley (Vally, Vlly, or Vly) *Valleys (Vlys) *Via *Viaduct (Vdct, Viadct, or Via) *View (Vw) *Views (Vws) *Village (Vill, Villag, Villg, or Vlg) *Villages (Vlgs) *Ville (Vl) *Vista (Vist, Vst, Vsta, or Vis) *Walk *Wall *Way (Wy) *Well (Wl) *Wells (Wls)


Australia

This list has examples of suffix forms suitable for use in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
with clear connotations of the class and type of road, recommended by
Standards Australia Standards Australia is a standards organisation established in 1922 and is recognised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Australian government as the primary non-government standards development body in Australia. It is a co ...
. * ''Alley'' (Ally) Usually narrow roadway in cities or towns, often through city block or squares. * ''Approach'' (App) Roadway leading to an area of community interest (e.g. public open space, commercial area, beach etc.) * ''Arcade'' (Arc) Passage having an arched roof, or any covered passageway, especially one with shops along the sides. * ''Avenue'' (Av or Ave) Broad roadway, usually planted on each side with trees. * ''Boardwalk'' (Bwlk) Promenade or path, especially of wooden planks, for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, along or overlooking a beach or waterfront. * ''Boulevard'' (Bvd or Blvd) Wide roadway, well paved, usually ornamented with trees and grass plots. * ''Break'' (Brk) Vehicular access on a formed or unformed surface, which was originally prepared as a firebreak. * ''Bypass'' (Bypa) Alternative roadway constructed to enable through traffic to avoid congested areas or other obstructions to movement. * ''Chase'' (Ch) Roadway leading down to a valley. * ''Circuit'' (Cct) Roadway enclosing an area. * ''Close'' (Cl) Short, enclosed roadway. * ''Concourse'' (Con) Roadway that runs around a central area (e.g. public open space or commercial area). * ''Court'' (Ct or Crt) Short, enclosed roadway. * ''Crescent'' (Cr or Cres) Crescent-shaped thoroughfare, especially where both ends join the same thoroughfare. * ''Crest'' (Crst) Roadway running along the top or summit of a hill. * ''Drive'' (Dr) Winding thoroughfare allowing a steady flow of traffic without many cross-streets. * ''Entrance'' (Ent) Roadway connecting other roads. * ''Esplanade'' (Esp) Level roadway, often along the seaside, lake or a river. * ''Firetrail'' (Ftrl) Vehicular access on a formed or unformed surface, which was originally prepared as a firebreak. * ''Freeway'' (Fwy) Express, multi-lane highway, with limited or controlled access. * ''Garden'' (Grdn) Often a short, enclosed roadway. * ''Gardens'' (Grdns) Often a short, enclosed roadway. * ''Glade'' (Glde) Roadway usually in a valley of trees. * ''Grange'' (Gra) Roadway leading to a country estate, or focal point, public open space, shopping area etc. * ''Grove'' (Gr) Roadway that features a group of trees standing together. * ''Highway'' (Hwy) Main road or thoroughfare, a main route. Specifically reserved for roads associated with state arterial road networks, restricted to roads of strategic importance constructed to a high standard. * ''Lane'' (La, Ln or L) Narrow way between walls, buildings or a narrow country or city roadway. * ''Loop'' Roadway that diverges from and re-joins the main thoroughfare. * ''Mall'' Sheltered walk, promenade or shopping precinct. * ''Mews'' Roadway in a group of houses. * ''Parade'' (Pde) Public promenade or roadway that has good pedestrian facilities along the side. * ''Parkway'' (Pwy or Pkwy) Roadway through parklands or an open grassland area. * ''Passage'' (Psge) Narrow street for pedestrians. * ''Path'' Roadway used only for pedestrian traffic. * ''Place'' (Pl) Short, sometimes narrow, enclosed roadway. * ''Plaza'' (Plza) Roadway enclosing the four sides of an area forming a market place or open space. * ''Promenade'' (Prom) Roadway like an avenue with plenty of facilities for the public to take a leisurely walk, a public place for walking. * ''Quays'' (Qys) Roadway leading to a landing place alongside or projecting into water. * ''Ramp'' Access road to and from highways and freeways. * ''Retreat'' (Rtt) Roadway forming a place of seclusion. * ''Ridge'' (Rdge) Roadway along the top of a hill. * ''Rise'' Roadway going to a higher place or position. * ''Road'' (Rd) Open way or public passage primarily for vehicles. * ''Square'' (Sq) Roadway bounding the four sides of an area to be used as an open space or a group of buildings. * ''Steps'' (Stps) Route consisting mainly of steps. * ''Street'' (St) Public roadway in a town, city or urban area, especially a paved thoroughfare with footpaths and buildings along one or both sides. * ''Subway'' (Sbwy) Underground passage or tunnel that pedestrians use for crossing under a road, railway, river etc. * ''Terrace'' (Tce) Roadway usually with houses on either side raised above the road level. * ''Track'' (Trk) Roadway with a single carriageway. A roadway through a natural bushland region. The interpretation for both Track and Trail is limited to roadways, whereas in many areas (e.g. Tasmania) these are often associated with walking rather than vehicular movement. * ''Trail'' (Trl) See ‘Track’. * ''View'' Roadway commanding a wide panoramic view across surrounding areas. * ''Vista'' (Vsta) Roadway with a view or outlook. * ''Walk'' Thoroughfare with restricted access used mainly by pedestrians. * ''Way'' Roadway affording passage from one place to another. Usually not as straight as an avenue or street. * ''Wharf'' (Whrf) A roadway on a wharf or pier.


Hong Kong

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
does not have regulations on the road and street names, but currently has some guidelines on a few suffices, namely Road, Street, Path and Lane. There are about 50 English suffices recorded in the street list of Lands Department in 2023. Usually each street in Hong Kong comes with an English name and a Chinese name. While English street names follow British convention, they usually occasionally show local and international influences. Some private housing developers name roads with French and Italian names. A handful of names have prefixes rather than suffices; for simplicity these are included with suffices in this section. English and Chinese terms do not necessarily correspond one-to-one. See also
List of streets and roads in Hong Kong The following are incomplete lists of Controlled-access highway, expressways, tunnels, bridges, roads, Avenue (landscape), avenues, streets, crescents, Town square, squares and bazaars in Hong Kong. Many roads on the Hong Kong Island conform to ...
.


Guideline

* ''Road'', a main road in a region or urban area * ''Street'', a primary or secondary road in a district, usually surrounding with buildings * ''Path'', a footpath or narrow road * ''Lane'', a passage or narrow road between buildings


Suffices, including some prefixes

In order of frequency: * ''Street'' * ''Road'' * ''Lane'' * ''Path'' * ''Avenue'' * ''Drive'' * ''Terrace'' * ''Square'' * ''Interchange'' * ''Boulevard'' * ''Circuit'' * ''Highway'' * ''Crescent'' * ''Close'' * ''Fong'', Cantonese 坊 * ''Flyover'' * ''Link'' * ''Tunnel'' * ''Bridge'' * ''Court'' * ''Rise'' * ''Rue'', a French word meaning Street * ''Way'' * ''Bypass'' * ''Corridor'' * ''Place'' * ''Row'' * ''Viale'', an Italian word meaning Avenue * ''Bazaar'', see
Bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
* ''Crossing'' * ''Embankment'' * ''Praya'', see Praya * ''Promenade'' * ''Ride'' * ''Steps'' * ''Strand'' * ''Wai'', Cantonese 圍 * ''Walk'' * ''Alley'' * ''Approach'' * ''Circle'' * ''Field'' * ''Gate'' * ''Incline'' * ''Junction'' * ''Mall'' * ''Pathway'' * ''Quadrant'' * ''Route'' * ''Toi'', Cantonese 臺, also simplified form 台 * ''View'' * ''Yard''


References


See also

* Odonymy in France * Odonymy in the United Kingdom {{DEFAULTSORT:Street Suffix Streets