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Results Output Format


Field Name Field Description
Name Type

Name Types are:
C = Conventional - English name in wide spread usage for a feature located in a area where English is not the official language;
N = BGN Standard - Official local name for a feature;
NS = BGN Standard in non-Roman script;
D = Not verified - Name could not be verified from a recent local official source;
DS = Not verified in non-Roman script;
H = Historic;
HS = Historic in non-Roman script;
P = Provisional;
PS = Provisional in non-Roman script;
V = Variant or alternate - Former name, name in local usage, or other spellings found on various sources;
VS = Variant or alternate in non-Roman script

NAME The full name is a complete name which identifies the named feature. It is comprised of the specific name, generic name, and any articles or prepositions. The query returns the specific part of the name first followed by a comma and then the generic part and any article or prepositions. Names that are enclosed in double parenthesis (( Name )) are features that are believed to no longer exist. User should click on the returned name to receive any additional names for the feature.

Generic - The descriptive part of the full name (does not apply to populated place names).
Short Form - A specific part of the name that could substitute for the full name.
REGION Region Code.  A code that determines the character mapping used in the Full_Name field (refer to Character Set Conversion Table for character mapping):
1 = Western Europe/Americas;
2 = Eastern Europe;
3 = Africa/Middle East;
4 = Central Asia;
5 = Asia/Pacific;
6 = Vietnam.
DESIG Feature Designation Code .  A two to five-character code used to identify the type of feature to which a name is applied.
LATITUDE Latitude of the feature in degrees.
LONGITUDE Longitude of the feature in degrees.
AREA Area Code is made up to two parts. The first two characters are the Country Code and the second two characters are the First-Order Administrative Division Code:

Country Code - A two alphabetic character code uniquely identifying a geopolitical entity (countries, dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty);
First-Order Administrative Division - A two alphanumeric character code uniquely identifying a primary administrative division of a country, such as a state in the United States.
MGRS Military Grid Reference System coordinates coordinate grid reference.
JOG NO. Joint Operations Graphic reference.
UFI Unique Feature Identifier.  A number which uniquely identifies the feature.
UNI Unique Name Identifier.  A number which uniquely identifies a name.
PPL Class Populated Place Classification.  A graduated numerical scale denoting the relative importance of a populated place.  The scale ranges from 1,  relatively high, to 5, relatively low. This is a new column and is not usually filled in.
MOD_DATE Modify Date and Time.  The Modify Date and Time is the date that the feature was added to the database or the date the last change was made to any field in the feature record. 

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GIS Compatible Output Format


Field Name Field Description Field Type Default Selection
RC

Region Font Code.  A code that determines the character mapping used in the SHORT_FORM, Generic, and Full_Name fields (see Character Set Conversion Table [Char_Sets_20060703.pdf],:


1 = Americas/Western Europe;
2 = Eastern Europe;
3 = Africa/Middle East;
4 = Russia/ Central Asia;
5 = Asia/Pacific;
6 = Vietnam.
number Y
UFI Unique Feature Identifier.  A number which uniquely identifies a Geoname feature. number Y
UNI Unique Name Identifier.  A number which uniquely identifies a name. number Y
LAT

Latitude of the Geoname feature in ± decimal degrees; DD; (± dd.dd...):
no sign (+) = North; 05°03'09''E » 5.0525

negative sign (-) = South; 05°03'09''S » -5.0525
number Y
LONG

Longitude of the feature in ± decimal degrees; DD; (± dd.dd...):
no sign (+) = East;

negative sign (-) = West.
number Y
DMS_LAT

Latitude of the Geoname feature in ±degrees, minutes, and seconds; DMS; (±ddmmss):
no sign (+) = North;

negative sign (-) = South.
number Y
DMS_LONG

Longitude of the Geoname feature in ±degrees, minutes, and seconds; DMS; (±dddmmss) :
no sign (+) = East;

negative sign (-) = West.
number Y
MGRS Military Grid Reference System coordinates character Y
JOG Joint Operations Graphic reference. character Y
FC

Feature Classification: Nine (9) major Geoname feature categories into which similar feature designations are grouped.
A = Administrative region type feature
P = Populated place type feature
V = Vegetation type feature
L = Locality or area type feature
U = Undersea type feature
R = Streets, highways, roads, or railroad type feature
T = Hypsographic type feature
H = Hydrographic type feature
S = Spot type feature

character Y
DSG Feature Designation Code.  A two to five-character code used to identify the type of Geoname feature a name is applied to. character Y
PC Populated Place Classification.  A graduated numerical scale denoting the relative importance of a populated place.  The scale ranges from 1, relatively high, to 5, relatively low.  The scale could also include NULL (no value) as a value for populated places with unknown or undetermined classification. number Y
CC1 Primary Country Code.  A two alphabetic character code uniquely identifying a geopolitical entity (countries, dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty). character Y
ADM1 First-order administrative division code. A two alpha-numeric code from the FIPS 10-4 Standard describing a primary administrative division of a geopolitical entity, such as a state in the United States. character Y
ADM2 Second-order administrative division.  The name of a subdivision of a first-order administrative division, such as a county in the United States. variable character Y
DIM Dimension: Holds Population/Elevation Figures. If the Feature Classification is "P", Populated place type feature, then the value is Population Figures. For all others, the value is Elevation number N
POP Population Figures. number Y
ELEV Elevations (in meters, decimal values accepted). number Y
CC2 Secondary Country Code. A two alphabetic character code from the FIPS 10-4 Standard uniquely identifying the country code of a particular Geoname feature name if different than that of the primary country code of that Geoname feature (International features). character Y
NT

Name Type:
C = Conventional name
N = BGN Standard name
NS = BGN Standard name in non-Roman script
P = Provisional name
PS = Provisional name in non-Roman script
H = Historic name
HS = Historic name in non-Roman script
D = Not verified or daggered name
DS = Not verified name in non-Roman script
V = Variant or alternate name
VS = Variant name in non-Roman script

character Y
LC Language Code. A three alphabetic character code (ISO 639-3) uniquely identifying the language assigned to a Geoname feature name. character Y
SHORT_FORM A part of the full name that could substitute for the full name. variable character Y
GENERIC The descriptive part of the full name such as Mount, River, or Sea (generally does not apply to populated place names). variable character Y
SORT_NAME A form of the full name that allows for alphabetical sorting of the file into gazetteer sequence. All character/diacritic combinations and special characters are substituted with QWERTY (visible U.S. English keyboard) characters, all characters are upper-cased, numerals are converted to lower-case characters (0-9 = a-j), spaces are stripped out, and commas replaced with space.  The substitution is done according to a character mapping table that is Region Font Code specific (see Character Set Conversion Table [Char_Sets_20060703.pdf].  This field is included for the benefit of the end user of the data to aid in the sorting of names if required. variable character Y
FULL_NAME The full name is the complete name that identifies a named feature.  The full name is output in reading order, "Mount Everest", vs. reversed generic, "Everest, Mount", as stored in the database. variable character Y
FULL_NAME_ND Same as the full name but the character/diacritic combinations and special characters are substituted with QWERTY (visible U.S. English keyboard) characters while still maintaining casing and spaces. The substitution is done according to a character mapping table that is Region Font Code specific (see Character Set Conversion Table [Char_Sets_20060703.pdf].  ND = No Diacritics / Stripped Diacritics. variable character Y
MODIFY_DATE The date a new feature was added or any part of an existing feature was modified (YYYY-MM-DD). date-time N

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Point of Contact: GEOnet Names Server
NGA Bethesda
phone 301-227-3059, DSN 287-3059
geonames@nga.mil

Document last modified October 19, 2009

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