Ports of Call City Codes
This table of historical ports of call codes is preserved for researchers but is no longer actively updated. For full context, see Passenger Lists Organization.
🚢 Reference Resource
Steamship companies often used abbreviated port codes on passenger lists and voyage summaries. These codes, sometimes three letters and sometimes more, were primarily for company or ticketing convenience.
While of limited use to most casual researchers, they can occasionally help genealogists, historians, and collectors decipher abbreviated passenger list records. This table is preserved here for reference, but it is not actively updated. For broader context on how passenger lists were structured and organized, see our page on Passenger Lists Organization
These are the port city codes that are used on passenger list summaries for ports of calls made for the steamship voyages.
| Code | City | State / Municipality | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADE | Aden | Yemen | |
| AJA | Ajaccio | Corsica | France |
| ALH | Albany | Australia | |
| ALY | Alexandria | Egypt | |
| ALG | Algiers | Algeria | |
| ANR | Antwerp | Belgium | |
| AZS | Azores | Portugal | Autonomous Region of Azores |
| BAL | Baltimore | Maryland | United States |
| BWI | Belfast | United Kingdom | |
| BGO | Bergen | Norway | |
| BDA | Bermuda | Bermuda | |
| BOD | Bordeaux | France | |
| XBS | Boulogne-sur-Mer | France | |
| BOS | Boston | Massachusetts | USA |
| BRE | Bremen | Germany | |
| BRV | Bremerhaven | Germany | |
| BNE | Brisbane | Australia | |
| BUE | Buenos Aires | Argentina | |
| CEQ | Cannes | France | |
| CPT | Cape Town | South Africa | |
| CAS | Casablanca | Morocco | |
| CER | Cherbourg | France | |
| COB | Cobh | Queenstown | Ireland |
| CMB | Colombo | Sri Lanka | |
| CPH | Copenhagen | Denmark | |
| CUR | Curacao | Netherlands Antilles | |
| CUX | Cuxhaven | Saxony | Germany |
| DVR | Dover | Kent | United Kingdom |
| DUB | Dublin | Ireland | |
| DUR | Durban | South Africa | |
| ELS | East London | South Africa | |
| GLS | Galveston | Texas | United States |
| GWY | Galway | Ireland | |
| GOA | Genoa | Italy | |
| GIB | Gibraltar | Gibraltar | |
| GLA | Glasgow | United Kingdom | |
| GOT | Gothenburg | Sweden | |
| GRK | Greenock | Scotland | United Kingdom |
| YHZ | Halifax | Nova Scotia | Canada |
| HAM | Hamburg | Germany | |
| HAV | Havana | Cuba | |
| UKB | Kobe | Japan | |
| KRS | Kristiansand | Norway | |
| LPG | La Plata | Argentina | |
| LEH | Le Havre | France | |
| LEI | Almería | Spain | |
| LIS | Lisbon | Portugal | |
| LPL | Liverpool | United Kingdom | |
| LON | London | United Kingdom | |
| LDY | Londonderry | United Kingdom | |
| LAX | Los Angeles | California | United States |
| FNC | Madeira | Santa Cruz | Madeira |
| MRS | Marseilles | France | |
| MEL | Melbourne | Australia | |
| YMQ | Montreal | Quebec | Canada |
| MOE | Moville | Ireland | |
| NAP | Naples | Italy | |
| NYC | New York | New York | United States |
| NCL | Newcastle | England | UK |
| NCE | Nice | France | |
| ORF | Norfolk Newport News | Virginia | United States |
| OSL | Oslo | Norway | |
| PMO | Palermo | Italy | |
| GPA | Patras | Greece | |
| Per | Perth | Fremantle | Australia |
| PHL | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | United States |
| PLH | Plymouth | England | United Kingdom |
| PDL | Ponta Delgada | Azores | Portugal |
| PLZ | Port Elizabeth | Algoa Bay | South Africa |
| PSD | Port Said | Egypt | |
| YQB | Quebec | Quebec | Canada |
| RJK | Rijeka | Fiume (local Name: Hrvatska) | Croatia |
| RIO | Rio De Janeiro | Brazil | |
| RTM | Rotterdam | Netherlands | |
| STJ | Saint John | New Burnswick | Canada |
| SFO | San Francisco | California | United States |
| SPC | Santa Cruz | Canary Islands | Spain |
| Sea | Seattle | Washington | United States |
| PVG | Shanghai | China | |
| SOU | Southampton | United Kingdom | |
| SBN | Spitsbergen | Norway | |
| YSJ | St John | New Brunswick | Canada |
| YYT | St. John's | Newfoundland | Canada |
| SVG | Stavanger | Norway | |
| SYD | Sydney | Australia | |
| PMO | Syracuse | Sicily | Italy |
| TNG | Tangier | Morocco | |
| TCI | Tenerife | Spain | |
| TIL | Tilbury | London | United Kingdom |
| TRS | Trieste | Italy |
|
| TRD | Trondhjem | Norway | |
| YYJ | Victoria | British Columbia | Canada |
| VGO | Vigo | Spain | |
| VFR | Villefranche | Villefranche-sur-Mer | France |
| YOK | Yokohama | Japan | |
📚 Teacher & Student Resource
Many of our FAQ pages include essay prompts, classroom activities, and research guidance to help teachers and students use GG Archives materials in migration and maritime history studies. Whether you’re writing a paper, leading a class discussion, or tracing family history, these resources are designed to connect individual stories to the bigger picture of ocean travel (1880–1960).
✨ Educators: Feel free to adapt these prompts for assignments and lesson plans. ✨ Students: Use GG Archives as a primary source hub for essays, genealogy projects, and historical research.
📘 About the Passenger List FAQ Series (1880s–1960s)
This FAQ is part of a series exploring ocean travel, class distinctions, and the purpose of passenger lists between the 1880s and 1960s. These resources help teachers, students, genealogists, historians, and maritime enthusiasts place passenger lists into historical context.
- Why First & Second Class lists were produced as souvenirs.
- How class designations like Saloon, Tourist Third Cabin, and Steerage evolved.
- The difference between souvenir passenger lists and immigration manifests.
- How photographs, menus, and advertisements complement list research.
👉 Explore the full FAQ series to deepen your understanding of migration, tourism, and ocean liner culture. ⚓
📜 Research note: Some names and captions were typed from originals and may reflect period spellings or minor typographical variations. When searching, try alternate spellings and cross-check with related records. ⚓
Curator’s Note
For over 25 years, I've been dedicated to a unique mission: tracking down, curating, preserving, scanning, and transcribing historical materials. These materials, carefully researched, organized, and enriched with context, live on here at the GG Archives. Each passenger list isn't just posted — it's a testament to our commitment to helping you see the people and stories behind the names.
It hasn't always been easy. In the early years, I wasn't sure the site would survive, and I often paid the hosting bills out of my own pocket. But I never built this site for the money — I built it because I love history and believe it's worth preserving. It's a labor of love that I've dedicated myself to, and I'm committed to keeping it going.
If you've found something here that helped your research, sparked a family story, or just made you smile, I'd love to hear about it. Your experiences and stories are the real reward for me. And if you'd like to help keep this labor of love going, there's a "Contribute to the Website" link tucked away on our About page.
📜 History is worth keeping. Thanks for visiting and keeping it alive with me.
