Journal Abbreviation Finder
Search by full journal title, abbreviation or ISSN — in either direction — and get the NLM (MEDLINE) abbreviation, the ISO abbreviation, a version with ISO 4 full stops, and the print and online ISSNs. The data is the U.S. National Library of Medicine's list of about 38,000 journals cited in PubMed. Free, no sign-up.
Capitals, accents and punctuation are ignored, so J. Am. Chem. Soc. finds J Am Chem Soc.
Type at least two characters to search the NLM journal list.
How to Use the Journal Abbreviation Finder
- 1. Type a title, an abbreviation or an ISSN. After two characters the journal list loads once and every keystroke searches it. Capitals, accents and punctuation are ignored, so J. Am. Chem. Soc., j am chem soc and 0002-7863 all find the same journal.
- 2. Read the matches. Exact matches come first, then titles and abbreviations that start with your words, then those containing them; within each group, shorter titles first.
- 3. Copy the form your style needs — the MEDLINE abbreviation, or the version with ISO 4 full stops.
- 4. Note the source. The date under the results is the date of the NLM file the list was built from.
Three Forms of a Journal Name
The data is NLM's PubMed journal list, J_Medline.txt, published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and in the public domain. For each journal it records a MEDLINE abbreviation and an ISO abbreviation; in the current file the two are identical for every title, because NLM writes its ISO abbreviations without full stops. Which form you need depends on your style:
| Form | Example | Used by |
|---|---|---|
| MEDLINE / NLM abbreviation | N Engl J Med | Vancouver, AMA, NLM and most biomedical journals — no full stops. |
| ISO 4 with full stops | N. Engl. J. Med. | Chemistry and physics styles such as ACS and AIP, and journals that ask for ISO 4 punctuation. |
| Full title | The New England Journal of Medicine | APA, MLA and Chicago, which spell journal names out. |
The With ISO 4 full stops line is derived rather than looked up: the finder adds a full stop after each word the abbreviation shortens and leaves whole words alone, so Lancet Oncol becomes Lancet Oncol. and J Am Chem Soc becomes J. Am. Chem. Soc. Check it against the journal's own style — the spacing of initials such as U. S. A. varies.
Journals Not in the List: The ISO 4 Rules
Coverage is mainly biomedical and life sciences, so many journals in engineering, the humanities and the social sciences are missing. Their abbreviations follow ISO 4 and the List of Title Word Abbreviations (LTWA) maintained by the ISSN International Centre:
- Shorten each word as the LTWA does — Journal → J., International → Int., Research → Res. A word the list does not contain is written in full.
- Drop articles, conjunctions and prepositions — the, and, of, for — unless they are part of a name.
- Leave one-word titles whole — Nature, Science and Cell are never abbreviated.
- Keep the capitals and add a full stop after each shortened word — Journal of Applied Physics becomes J. Appl. Phys.
- Check the journal first. Many journals state their preferred abbreviation in their author guidelines, and that overrides anything derived.
How the search works. When you type the second character, your browser downloads the journal list from this site once and searches it locally; nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the NLM abbreviation of a journal?
- The short title the U.S. National Library of Medicine assigns for MEDLINE and PubMed — N Engl J Med for The New England Journal of Medicine. It is written without full stops and is the form the Vancouver, AMA and NLM citation styles use.
- What is the difference between ISO 4 and NLM abbreviations?
- NLM builds its abbreviations from the same ISO 4 word list, so the words are usually shortened the same way; the visible difference is punctuation. NLM leaves out the full stops (J Am Chem Soc), while ISO 4 puts one after every shortened word (J. Am. Chem. Soc.).
- How do I abbreviate a journal that is not in the list?
- Apply ISO 4: look up each word in the ISSN International Centre's List of Title Word Abbreviations, write unlisted words in full, drop articles and prepositions, and leave one-word titles unabbreviated. Then check the journal's author guidelines, which often give the preferred form.
- Which journals does the list cover?
- About 38,000 journals cited in PubMed, current and ceased — chiefly medicine and the life sciences, with some chemistry, physics and general science titles. It is NLM's list, so engineering, the humanities and the social sciences are thinly covered.
- Can I search by abbreviation to find the full title?
- Yes. The search runs in both directions and ignores capitals, accents and punctuation, so J. Am. Chem. Soc., j am chem soc and the ISSN 0002-7863 all find the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
- Why do some journals have two ISSNs?
- One for each medium: a print ISSN and an online ISSN. They identify the same journal; cite the one for the version you read, or both if your style or database asks for them.