Street suffix


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; for example, "St." instead of "Street". The way street suffixes are used varies around the world.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, 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, 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 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 thoroughfareStreet for any thoroughfareWay for major roadsAvenue for residential roads, typically tree-linedDrive for residential roadsLane for residential roadsGrove for residential roads, usually a cul-de-sacGardens subject to there being no confusion with any local open spacePlace subject to there being no confusion with any local open spaceCircus for a Circus or for a large roundaboutCrescent for a crescent-shaped roadBypass for a dual carriageway or motorway that bypasses a nearby village, city or townClose for a cul-de-sac onlySquare for a square onlyHill for a hillside road onlyMews provided it does not repeat the name of the road from which access is gainedVale for residential roads Rise/Row for residential roads Mead/Wharf for residential roads

Disallowed (but common in other parts of the UK)

EndCourtCrossSideViewWalkParkMeadowGreenQuadrantGate
  • ''Gait''

Regional variations

Brow, in CumbriaBrae, in ScotlandShute, on the Isle of WightWynd in Scotland and Northern England

Mainland Europe

A few points of note on street suffixes in mainland Europe:
  • In some languages the "street suffix" precedes the name and is thus a "street prefix"
  • In some languages the street suffix is not a separate word but is included in the same word as the rest of the name. 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''

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. Commonly used street abbreviations are within parentheses.
  • Alley
  • Annex
  • Arcade
  • Avenida
  • Avenue
  • Bayou
  • Beach
  • Bend
  • Bluff
  • Bluffs
  • Bottom
  • Boulevard
  • Branch
  • Bridge
  • Brook
  • Brooks
  • Burg
  • Burgs
  • Bypass
  • Calle
  • Camino
  • Camp
  • Canyon
  • Cape
  • Causeway
  • Center
  • Centers
  • Circle
  • Circles
  • Cliff
  • Cliffs
  • Club
  • Common
  • Commons
  • Corner
  • Corners
  • Course
  • Court
  • Courts
  • Cove
  • Coves
  • Creek
  • Crescent
  • Crest
  • Crossing
  • Crossroad
  • Curve
  • Dale
  • Dam
  • Divide
  • Drive
  • Drives
  • Estate
  • Estates
  • Expressway
  • Extension
  • Extensions
  • Fall
  • Falls
  • Ferry
  • Field
  • Fields
  • Flat
  • Flats
  • Ford
  • Fords
  • Forest
  • Forge
  • Forges
  • Fork
  • Forks
  • Fort
  • Freeway
  • Garden
  • Gardens
  • Gateway
  • Glen
  • Glens
  • Green
  • Greens
  • Grove
  • Groves
  • Harbor
  • Harbors
  • Haven
  • Heights
  • Highway
  • Hill
  • Hills
  • Hollow
  • Inlet
  • Island
  • Islands
  • Isle
  • Junction
  • Junctions
  • Key
  • Keys
  • Knoll
  • Knolls
  • Lake
  • Lakes
  • Land
  • Landing
  • Lane
  • Light
  • Lights
  • Loaf
  • Lock
  • Locks
  • Lodge
  • Loop
  • Mall
  • Manor
  • Manors
  • Meadow
  • Meadows
  • Mews
  • Mill
  • Mills
  • Mission
  • Motorway
  • Mount
  • Mountain
  • Mountains
  • Neck
  • Orchard
  • Oval
  • Overlook
  • Overpass
  • Park
  • Parks
  • Parkway
  • Parkways
  • Pass
  • Passage
  • Path
  • Pike
  • Pine
  • Pines
  • Place
  • Plain
  • Plains
  • Plaza
  • Point
  • Points
  • Port
  • Ports
  • Prairie
  • Radial
  • Ramp
  • Ranch
  • Rapid
  • Rapids
  • Rest
  • Ridge
  • Ridges
  • River
  • Road
  • Roads
  • Route
  • Row
  • Rue
  • Run
  • Shoal
  • Shoals
  • Shore
  • Shores
  • Skyway
  • Spring
  • Springs
  • Spur
  • Square
  • Squares
  • Station
  • Strasse
  • Stravenue
  • Stream
  • Street
  • Streets
  • Summit
  • Terrace
  • Throughway
  • Trace
  • Track
  • Trafficway
  • Trail
  • Trailer
  • Tunnel
  • Turnpike
  • Underpass
  • Union
  • Unions
  • Valley
  • Valleys
  • Via
  • Viaduct
  • View
  • Views
  • Village
  • Villages
  • Ville
  • Vista
  • Walk
  • Wall
  • Way
  • Well
  • Wells

Australia

This list has examples of suffix forms suitable for use in Australia with clear connotations of the class and type of road, recommended by Standards Australia.Alley Usually narrow roadway in cities or towns, often through city block or squares. Approach Roadway leading to an area of community interest Arcade Passage having an arched roof, or any covered passageway, especially one with shops along the sides.Avenue Broad roadway, usually planted on each side with trees.Boardwalk Promenade or path, especially of wooden planks, for pedestrians and sometimes vehicles, along or overlooking a beach or waterfront.Boulevard Wide roadway, well paved, usually ornamented with trees and grass plots.Break Vehicular access on a formed or unformed surface, which was originally prepared as a firebreak.Bypass Alternative roadway constructed to enable through traffic to avoid congested areas or other obstructions to movement.Chase Roadway leading down to a valley.Circuit Roadway enclosing an area.Close Short, enclosed roadway.Concourse Roadway that runs around a central area.Court Short, enclosed roadway.Crescent Crescent-shaped thoroughfare, especially where both ends join the same thoroughfare.Crest Roadway running along the top or summit of a hill.Drive Winding thoroughfare allowing a steady flow of traffic without many cross-streets.Entrance Roadway connecting other roads.Esplanade Level roadway, often along the seaside, lake or a river.Firetrail Vehicular access on a formed or unformed surface, which was originally prepared as a firebreak.Freeway Express, multi-lane highway, with limited or controlled access.Garden Often a short, enclosed roadway.Gardens Often a short, enclosed roadway.Glade Roadway usually in a valley of trees.Grange Roadway leading to a country estate, or focal point, public open space, shopping area etc.Grove Roadway that features a group of trees standing together.Highway 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 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 Public promenade or roadway that has good pedestrian facilities along the side.Parkway Roadway through parklands or an open grassland area.Passage Narrow street for pedestrians.Path Roadway used only for pedestrian traffic.Place Short, sometimes narrow, enclosed roadway.Plaza Roadway enclosing the four sides of an area forming a market place or open space.Promenade Roadway like an avenue with plenty of facilities for the public to take a leisurely walk, a public place for walking.Quays Roadway leading to a landing place alongside or projecting into water.Ramp Access road to and from highways and freeways.Retreat Roadway forming a place of seclusion.Ridge Roadway along the top of a hill.Rise Roadway going to a higher place or position.Road Open way or public passage primarily for vehicles.Square Roadway bounding the four sides of an area to be used as an open space or a group of buildings.Steps Route consisting mainly of steps.Street Public roadway in a town, city or urban area, especially a paved thoroughfare with footpaths and buildings along one or both sides.Subway Underground passage or tunnel that pedestrians use for crossing under a road, railway, river etc.Terrace Roadway usually with houses on either side raised above the road level.Track 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 these are often associated with walking rather than vehicular movement.Trail See ‘Track’.View Roadway commanding a wide panoramic view across surrounding areas.Vista 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 A roadway on a wharf or pier.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong does not have regulations on the road and street names, but currently has some guidelines on a few suffixes, namely Road, Street, Path and Lane. There are about 50 English suffixes 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 suffixes; for simplicity these are included with suffixes in this section.
English and Chinese terms do not necessarily correspond one-to-one. See also List of streets and roads in Hong Kong.

Guideline

Road, a main road in a region or urban areaStreet, a primary or secondary road in a district, usually surrounding with buildingsPath, a footpath or narrow roadLane, a passage or narrow road between buildings

Suffixes, including some prefixes

In order of frequency:StreetRoadLanePathAvenueDriveTerraceSquareInterchangeBoulevardCircuitHighwayCrescentCloseFong, Cantonese 坊FlyoverLinkTunnelBridgeCourtRiseRue, a French word meaning StreetWayBypassCorridorPlaceRowViale, an Italian word meaning AvenueBazaar, see BazaarCrossingEmbankmentPraya, see PrayaPromenadeRideStepsStrandWai, Cantonese 圍WalkAlleyApproachCircleFieldGateInclineJunctionMallPathwayQuadrantRouteToi, Cantonese 臺, also simplified form 台View
  • ''Yard''