FamilySearch Place: Place Types
Place types are standard categories used in FamilySearch places. They help identify similar types of places across many languages and cultures, and having a standard also assists with functions like search.
The terms chosen for place types may not exactly match the term used by the place. For help choosing the correct place type in these cases, use the Type Thesaurus.
Type Definitions
Type Thesaurus
| Type ID | Name | Description |
| 155 | Anglican Parish | The basic functional division of the Church of England charged with keeping records of members. A parish is under the jurisdiction of a priest or minister who reports to a diocese or deanery. |
| 469 | Archdiocese | The chief diocese that represents a larger group of dioceses - or an ecclesiastical province - in Catholic and some Protestant churches. Metropolis, Ecclesiastical Province |
| 2 | Barangay | A subdivision of a municipality in the Philippines. |
| 170 | Barony | A jurisdictional area overseen by a baron or nobleman of similar rank in certain European countries such as Ireland, Scotland, England or Belgium. |
| 5 | Bay | A body of water filling a coastal indentation between two capes or headlands. |
| 6 | Beach | The shore of a body of water, covered by sand or gravel. |
| 171 | Borough | A self-governing administrative district, usually a sub-division of a city, but occasionally a county, as in Pennsylvania. |
| 172 | Canton | An administrative or territorial subdivision in countries such as Switzerland, France, and Luxembourg. |
| 17 | Castle or Palace | A large fortified building or set of buildings. Often the residence of royalty or nobility. Includes castle ruins. |
| 349 | Catholic Parish | The basic functional division of a Catholic church, charged with keeping records of its members. A parish reports to a diocese. |
| 20 | Cemetery | A place or area for burying the dead (includes burial, burying ground, columbarium, grave, memorial garden, tomb, mausoleum). |
| 478 | Chapelry | A subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish used in the British Isles, which has some, but not all sacramental authorities, served by a chapel that was not the parish church. |
| 186 | City | A relatively large and permanent human settlement with complex systems of land-use, housing, transportation and government organization. |
| 193 | Civil Registration District | A local administrative jurisdiction organized for purposes of registering vital records of births, marriages, and deaths of the population. |
| 137 | Colony | A settlement made by a group of people from another place. May refer to a village or a larger region politically controlled by a distant country. |
| 26 | Continent | Large contiguous landmass. A large geographic subdivision of the world's landmasses. |
| 580 | Country | Any of a number of types of sovereign states and other political entities (e.g. republic, monarchy, federation, sultanate, dictatorship, etc.). |
| 209 | County | A mid-level administrative jurisdiction earlier under a count or earl, now a subdivision of a state or province. Subdivided into cities, townships, etc. |
| 521 | County (Top level) | Administrative unit that is directly below the country-level. Counties in England, Ireland, Sweden and Romania, for example, are analogous to states or provinces in other countries. |
| 28 | Courthouse | A building in which courts of law are held. |
| 213 | Deanery | A mid-level ecclesiastical jurisdiction, a subdivision of a diocese that consists of several parishes and are under the direction of a Dean, who reports to a Bishop. |
| 215 | Department | A mid- or high level administrative division in France, Latin America and some African countries. |
| 217 | Dependency or Protectorate | An otherwise autonomous country that is dependent upon another country for military or economic support, such as Aruba, Guernsey or Isle of Man. |
| 218 | Diocese | A high level ecclesiastical jurisdiction under direction of a bishop. |
| 588 | Dispersed Settlement | An area of scattered houses (often farmsteads) with no obvious center, known by a collective name. |
| 221 | District | Any of a number of mid- to upper level political jurisdictions in many countries and areas of the world. |
| 240 | Division | A low, mid-, or upper political jurisdiction in several countries such as Fiji, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Cameroon, Tanzania, etc. |
| 242 | Duchy | A historical territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess; used in most European countries. |
| 247 | Estate | The grounds and tenancies (farms, housing, woodland, parkland) associated with a very large property. Feudal holding, Manorialism, Fiefdom/Fief, Plantation, Seigneurie in Quebec. |
| 250 | Extra-Parochial | An area outside of traditional parish jurisdiction in the United Kingdom. In 1857, extra-parochial areas were converted to parishes or annexed into existing parishes |
| 38 | Farm | A tract of land used for agriculture where one or more families, including workers, might live. Includes plantation, ranch, etc. |
| 42 | Forest | An area dominated by tree vegetation; includes areas of trees under the administration of a political agency. |
| 261 | Governorate | An administrative division of a country, headed by a governor. Present in Russia, historic Quebec and historic Poland. |
| 263 | Grant | An area of land deeded to an individual or group by a state or provincial government; land grants. |
| 266 | Hamlet | A very small, unincorporated settlement, usually less than 100 inhabitants. |
| 52 | Historic Site | An otherwise uninhabited place that is significant due to an event that occurred there. Includes monuments, etc. Should not be used for formerly inhabited historical places such as ghost towns. |
| 142 | Hospital | A building in which the sick or injured receive medical or surgical attention. Includes asylum, infirmary, leper colony, sanitarium, etc. |
| 269 | Hundred | A historic division of a county, shire or other administrative division, as in the UK, Denmark, or the US. Includes wapentake, liberty and soke. |
| 270 | Independent City | A city that is self-governing at a higher administrative level. Includes consolidated city-counties as well as cities that don't fit into a county, state, etc. |
| 56 | Island(s) | A landmass - smaller than a continent - that is surrounded by water at high tide; (includes archipelago, atoll, cay, hammock, hummock, isla, isle, key, moku, rock). |
| 277 | Judicial District | A legal district or judicial district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court has jurisdiction. |
| 59 | Lake | A large inland body of standing water (includes backwater, lac, laguna, resaca, reservoir, waterhole). |
| 64 | Locality | A minor area or place of unspecified or mixed character and indefinite boundaries. (This place type is being phased out and should not be used. Replace with more specific terms.) |
| 313 | Lutheran Parish | The basic functional division of the Lutheran Church, charged with keeping records of its members. A parish reports to a deanery or diocese. |
| 67 | Military Installation | A facility controlled by armed forces and designated for their use. |
| 69 | Mine | Site where mineral ores are extracted from the ground by excavating surface pits and/or subterranean passages. |
| 70 | Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Defined area, in which missionaries, representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, organize themselves and carry out proselyting and service activities. |
| 74 | Mountain | An elevation standing high above the surrounding area with small summit area, steep slopes and local relief of 300m or more. Includes summit or plateau. |
| 201 | Municipality | A local-level, self-governing administrative unit, specific to numerous countries using French, German, Italian, Hungarian, Scandinavian and other languages, including Asian areas. |
| 308 | Neighborhood or suburb | A recognized subdivision of an urban area. May or may not have its own local government. Suburb is the accepted term in Australia and New Zealand |
| 78 | Ocean | One of the major divisions of the vast expanse of salt water covering the earth. |
| 312 | Parish | A local administrative division, originally ecclesiastical in nature, but may now have more civil administrative functions. Modern civil parishes are very similar to municipalities. |
| 83 | Park | An area, often of forested land, maintained as a place of beauty, or for recreation. |
| 23 | Place of Worship | A building used for regular religious worship (includes church, chapel, mosque, synagogue, tabernacle, meeting house; does not include temples of The Church of Jesus Christ). |
| 316 | Poor Law Union | A local government unit in the United Kingdom and Ireland for the administration of poor relief, 1834-1930. In Ireland, also known as Superintendent Civil Registry. |
| 140 | Populated Place | A generic term for a city, town, village, or other agglomeration of buildings where people live. (This place type is being phased out and should not be used. Replace with more specific terms, such as village, town, etc.) |
| 317 | Precinct | A local government sub-division such as an electoral district of a county or city served by a single polling place or a district of a city or town as defined for police purposes. |
| 318 | Prefecture | A mid- or high level administrative division, governed by a prefect - a chief officer, magistrate, or regional governor - in countries such as Japan, China, Morocco, Chad, and Togo. |
| 321 | Principality or Emirate | A monarchical sovereign state ruled by a prince, as in Liechtenstein, Andorra, and Monaco, and historically in Germany and other countries. |
| 98 | Prison | A facility for confining prisoners. |
| 323 | Province | A high level administrative division in many countries of the world. Includes Voivodeship (Poland). |
| 337 | Region | An administrative division in many countries of the world. Also used to describe non-political divisions that share similar characteristics (climate, culture, topography, etc.). |
| 344 | Reservation or Reserve | An administrative tract of land reserved for the use and benefit of specified group of people, such as an indigenous people or tribe. |
| 125 | River | A linear body of water flowing on the Earth's surface (includes anabranch, awawa, bayou, branch, brook, creek, distributary, fork, kill, pup, rio, river, run, slough). |
| 115 | School | Building or group of buildings used as an institution for study, teaching, and learning (includes academy, college, high school, university). |
| 116 | Sea | A large body of salt water more or less confined by continuous land or chains of islands forming a subdivision of an ocean. |
| 362 | State | A high level administrative division in many countries of the world - federated states. Sovereign states are described with the place type Country. |
| 366 | Subdistrict | A mid- to low level administrative division in several countries, including Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Israel, and Thailand. Subprefecture, subprovince. |
| 61 | Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Building dedicated to religious worship and sacred ordinances in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. |
| 375 | Territory | A mid- or high level administrative designation for current or historical areas in a number of countries throughout the world including the United States, France, Australia, Canada, Japan, etc. |
| 376 | Town | A local division of human settlement, often incorporated administratively. Larger than a village but smaller than a city. An official designation for township in parts of the United States. |
| 141 | Townland | A local division of land belonging to an incorporated town in Ireland. |
| 378 | Township | A division of local government, a subdivision of a county or other jurisdiction in countries such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Korea, Panama, and Vietnam. |
| 391 | Village | A local division of human settlement, smaller than a town or city in most countries. Normally includes a place of worship or a business. |
| 135 | Well | A pit or hole sunk into the earth to reach a supply of water. |
| 394 | Zone | A specially designated area for political, commercial, or reserved status in countries such as Panama, Congo, Nepal and Ethiopia. |
Term | Standardized Place Type | Relevant Countries | Notes |
| Abbey | Place of Worship | ||
| Aboriginal Council | Reservation | Australia | |
| Akarere | District | Rwanda | |
| Amt | District | Germany | Same applies to Bezirksamt, Oberamt, etc. |
| Archdiocese | Archdiocese | There are separate place types for Diocese and Archdiocese. | |
| Arrondissement | District or Borough | Belgium, Haiti, Senegal, other French-Speaking Countries | Used differently depending on if the locality is rural (district) or urban (borough) |
| Asylum | Hospital | ||
| Baladiyah | Municipality | Algeria | |
| Barangay | Barangay | Philippines | This term is unique to the Philippines and should not be used elsewhere. |
| Barrio | Neighborhood or suburb | ||
| Bezirk | District, Region, or Borough | Austria, East Germany, Germany | Bezirk translates to English as district. In Austria, use "District". In East Germany, use "Region". For a Stadtbezirk within a city, use "Borough" |
| Catholic Parish | Roman Catholic Parish | ||
| Census Designated Place | Hamlet, Dispersed Settlement, or Village | United States | Choose place type based on the features of the locality. Village - A small settlement with a place of worship or business. Hamlet - a group of houses without a place of worship or business. Dispersed Settlement- Scattered houses, farmsteads, etc. with no central cluster. |
| Cercle | Department | Mali, Benin | |
| Chapel of Ease | Chapelry | United Kingdom | |
| Chapelry | Chapelry | United Kingdom | A subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish |
| Chiefdom | Municipality | DR Congo | |
| Commune | Municipality | ||
| Compartimento | Province | Italy, specifically Grand Duchy of Tuscany | |
| Consolidated City-County | Independent City | United States | |
| Constituency | Division | Namibia, Belize | |
| County | County or County (Top Level) | County (Top Level) is used where counties are at the level of states or provinces, such as in the UK, Zimbabwe, etc. | |
| Daira | District | Algeria, Western Sahara | |
| Deanery | Deanery | ||
| Dependency | Dependency or Protectorate | ||
| Diocese | Diocese | There are separate place types for Diocese and Archdiocese. | |
| District Municipality | District | South Africa | |
| Elayet | Province | Former Ottoman Empire | |
| Eldership | Parish | Lithuania | |
| Emirate | Emirate or Principality | UAE, Middle East | |
| Extra-Parochial | Extra-Parochial | England and Wales | |
| Fürstentum | Principality | Holy Roman Empire (Germany) | |
| Governorate | Governorate | Russia, Poland, Saudi Arabia | |
| Historic Site | Historic Site | For former settlements, use the applicable term (Village, etc.) instead of Historic Site. | |
| Homestead | Farm | ||
| Independent City | Independent City | Special in Virginia, but used in many other states and countries. | |
| Inkhundla | District | Eswatini | |
| Intara | Province | Rwanda | |
| Kaza | Neighborhood or suburb, sub-district, or district | Former Ottoman Empire, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan | In the Ottoman Empire, used sub-district, unless in Istanbul, in which case, use neighborhood. For contemporary countries, use district for level 2 (in Iraq, Lebanon, etc.) and sub-district for level 3 (Jordan, etc.). |
| Kingdom | Country | ||
| Kingdom District | Division | Wallis and Futuna | |
| Krai | Territory | Russia | |
| Local Government Area | Municipality | Nigeria | |
| Local Municipality | Municipality | South Africa | |
| Lutheran Parish | Lutheran Parish | ||
| Marae | Place of Worship | New Zealand, many Pacific islands | |
| Monastery | Place of Worship | ||
| Oblast | Region | Russia, Ukraine, Former Russian Empire | |
| Okrug | District | Russia | |
| Palace | Castle | ||
| Polder | Farm | Netherlands | |
| Protectorate | Dependency or Protectorate | ||
| Quarter | Neighborhood | ||
| Regency | County | ||
| Regierungsbezirk | Region | Germany | Regierungsbezirk is a mid-level administrative place in Germany that we use only rarely. |
| Reserve | Reservation or Reserve | ||
| Sector | Municipality | DR Congo | |
| Statutory City, Statutarstadt | Independent City | Austria | |
| Sub-County | Sub-District | Kenya | |
| Sub-Prefecture | Region | Japan | |
| Sub-Prefecture | District | Chad | |
| Sub-Region | County | Eritrea | |
| Suburb (Australia, NZ) | Neighborhood or Suburb | Australia, New Zealand | Should not be used for the American or British definitions of suburb, such as subdivisions or smaller towns near major cities. In those cases, town, city, village, etc. should be used. |
| Tehsil | Sub-District | India | |
| Temple (not belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) | Place of Worship | ||
| Temple (belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) | Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | ||
| Tinkundla | Sub-District | Eswatini | |
| Townland | Townland | Ireland | |
| Tribal Area | Reservation or Reserve | Yemen, Zimbabwe | |
| Unincorporated Community | Hamlet, Dispersed Settlement, Village | United States | Choose place type based on the features of the locality. Village - A small settlement with a place of worship or business. |
| Vilayet | Province | Former Ottoman Empire | |
| Wilaya | Province | Algeria, Western Sahara | |
| Zone | Zone | Ethiopia, Qatar | Should only be used for an administrative locality (e.g. not a demilitarized zone, health zones, etc.) |
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