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Genealogy applications run into this a lot. The person of interest lived at Engeset. FamilySearch has geocoded a place called "Engeset, Møre og Romsdal, Norway". So that's it, right? Not so fast, [there are at least 3 Engesets in Møre og Romsdal](https://www.google.com/maps/search/Engeset/@62.3358577,6.225...).

But that's at least better than when it's some local place name which it's never heard of, and thinks sounds most similar to a place in Afghanistan (this happens all the time).

And to add to it, there are administrative regions, and ecclesiastical regions. Do you put them in the parish, or in the municipality? The birth in the parish and the baptism in the municipality, maybe? How about the burial then...



Converting from a name/address to coordinates is geocoding. Reverse geocoding is mapping from coordinates to a name/address.


Well you need both. For instance to know that "Hauan" is likely a small named place near to the other named places this person is associated with, and not the name similar to it in Afghanistan. Any time there's any ambiguity about a name, you need the reverse too, to resolve it.




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