Calendars and time
Common Era
Direct answer
Common Era is an era label, abbreviated CE, using the same year numbers as Anno Domini without the Latin religious wording.
Common Era uses the same numbered years as AD under the label CE.
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At a glance
- Found in
- Calendars & Timekeeping
- Related
- Anno Domini, Before Common Era, Calendar, Julian Date
Common Era uses the same numbered years as AD under the label CE.
A cycle or timeline schematic for comparing the named timekeeping concept.
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The story behind Common Era
Common-era wording has precedents in early modern scholarship and became increasingly common in modern academic usage.
Why Common Era matters
Common Era allows historians, scientists, and international audiences to share familiar year numbers with a broadly inclusive label.
Where readings of Common Era go wrong
It is a mistake to assume that changing the era label changes the underlying chronology or calendar rules.
Sources and editorial method
Research references used for this entry include:
- U.S. Naval Observatory: Introduction to Calendars - Official overview of calendar systems, leap rules, eras, and historical calendar reform.
- ISO: ISO 8601 Date and Time Format - Standards-body overview of unambiguous international date and time representations.
- Source
- The Great Almanac Dictionary
- Category
- Calendars & Timekeeping
- Last updated
- 2026-09-26
Choose a consistent era label
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More in Calendars & Timekeeping
- Dynamical Time
- Greenwich Mean Time
- Julian Calendar
- Lunar Calendar
- Reduced Julian Date
- Synodic Month
- Week Number
- Barycentric Dynamical Time
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Common questions
What is Common Era?
Common Era is an era label, abbreviated CE, using the same year numbers as Anno Domini without the Latin religious wording.
What do people get wrong about Common Era?
It is a mistake to assume that changing the era label changes the underlying chronology or calendar rules.
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