Gang Acronyms and Associated Gang Names

Gang Acronyms and Associated Gang Names

When you look at street gang graffiti and you see gang initials, do you sometimes wonder what the initials mean?  Can you connect the initials with the gang?  Could they be the initials of a prison gang whose members are have been released to society?  Can those gang initials be used for gang identification?

TNLF will attempt to identify gang initials for you and we have started this page with a few known gangs.  Some of the gangs are well known and others may not be known outside of their local area.  We wish to assist you in the identification of some of these gang.  With time and with the help of our visitors, we will add to the list below.

If you would like to add gang initials and a gang name to the list, please forward the information below to our TNLF Email address.

If you submit gang initials, please include all of the following information

Gang initials - Gang name - Gang ethnicity (Asian, African-American, Hispanic, or Caucasian), Gang background, and locations (cities, states) where the gang is known to exist. 

We will add the gang information on a case by case basis.

Submit to chris@tnlafamiglia.org.

Gang Initials and Gang Names

AB - Aryan Brotherhood – A white supremacist prison gang founded in the California prison system in the 1960s.  The shamrock and 666 tattoos are associated with this gang.

ABT - Aryan Brotherhood of Texas – A white supremacist prison gang founded in Texas.

ABZ - Asian Boyz – An Asian-American street gang that originated in Southern California.  They have spread to many parts of the U.S. and are reportedly one of  largest Asian street gangs in the U.S.. Tiny Rascal Gangsters (TRG) is one of the key rivals of this gang.

AC - Aryan Circle – A white supremacist prison gang that has spread to many other states.

AKB - Asian Killa Boyz – A Southern California street gang.

ALK - Almighty Latin Kings – Founded in Chicago, Illinois, they are one of the largest Hispanic gangs in the United States. They're also known as the Latin Kings (LK), Almighty Latin King Nation (ALKN), and Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN).

AP - Armenian Power - Founded in the Glendale and Hollywood areas of Los Angeles.  Also known as the AP 13 or Armenian Power 13. The AP ethnicity is Armenian but they are considered equal to the Sureños and hold rank positions within the Sureños.

BA - Barrio Azteca - Founded in the 1980s, Barrio Azteca is a Hispanic prison gang active in the Southwestern United States.

BB – Border Brothers - The "Border Brothers", a Hispanic gang, are mainly found in the California Prison system, but are slowly spreading to other systems.

BD - Black Disciples – An African-American street gang founded in Chicago.

BDS - Fresno Bulldogs – A predominantly Hispanic street gang in Fresno, California. Also known as the F-14 Bulldogs. 

B.E.S.T. – Barrio Eighteenth ST (Street) - A violent Hispanic gang that accepts members from all ethnicities.  It has spread throughout the U.S.

BGF - Black Guerrilla Family – An African-American, anti-establishment, prison gang; formed in 1966, at San Quentin State Prison in California.

BHS – Ben Hill Squad – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

BOE - Busting On Everybody - A Georgia street gang

BP - Brown Pride – A Mexican-American street gang found in multiple locations, including California and Arizona. BP13 and BPX3 are a couple of other tags associated with this gang.

BPS - Black P. Stones - An African-American gang founded in Chicago in the mid-20th century. Originally called Blackstone Rangers, they are also known as the Black P. Stone Nation (BPSN).

BS – Bomb Squad – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

BSL - Brown Side Locos - A Hispanic street gang that is active in California and Georgia.

BTK - Born To Kill - A Vietnamese-American street gang founded in New York in the 1980s.

D&D – Down and Dirty – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

D4L – Down 4 Life – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

DDP - Dominicans Don't Play - A violent gang that is known to exist on the East Coast - NY, NY, MD.  Also Spain.

DFB – Dem Franchise Boyz – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

DWB - Dirty White Boys - A white prison gang that is believed to have origins in the federal prison system.  It is now found in state systems as well as the FBOP.

DMI - Dead Man Incorporated – A Caucasian prison/street gang founded in the Maryland prison system in the late 1990s.

DP – Da Posse – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

DSB - Down South Boys (Down South Boyz) – A Florida street gang.

EPT - El Paso Tangos (Tango Blast) – A Texas gang comprised primarily of Hispanics.

4CH - Four Corner Hustlers – An African-American street gang founded in Chicago, Illinois in the late 1960s.

F13 - Florencia 13 – One of the largest Hispanic gangs in Southern California.

FAB - Forever About Bread - A Houston, Texas gang

FSC – Fair Street Crips – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

FTRA - Freight Train Riders of America – A gang of individuals (hobos) who travel by rail boxcar. They are very active in the Northwest United States.  Crimes include robbery and murder.

G-27 – The G-27 formed in the Puerto Rico prison system.  Members are referred to as “Insectos.”

GB – Gutta Boyz – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

GD - Gangster Disciples – An African-American street/prison gang founded in Chicago, Illinois. They have spread to numerous other states throughout the United States.

GKB - Gangsta Killer Bloods (Gangster Killa Bloods) – A  predominantly African-American street gang  

GMB – Get Money Boyz – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

GMC – Get Money Crew – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

GS – Goone Squad – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

GSC - Grape Street Crips - A Southern California street gang.

GTSN – Gangster Two Six Nation – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

HPL - Hermanos de Pistoleros Latinos – A Hispanic prison gang founded in the Texas prison system in the late 1980s;  also known as Hermandad de Pistoleros Latinos.

HS – Hit Squad – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

HVK - Hidden Valley Kings – An African-American gang founded in Charlotte, North Carolina's in the 1990s.

IG – Imperial Gangsters – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

ISC – Insane Spanish Cobras – A Hispanic street gang founded in Chicago, IL

IVL - Insane Vice Lords – A Chicago African-American street gang.

LC - Latin Counts – A Latino street gang founded in Chicago, Illinois

LGF - La Gran Familia – A Hispanic gang alliance.

LHS – Lady Hit Squad – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

LIB - Living In Blood - No affiliation with BLOODS - An African Gang of predominately Liberians that formed in Philadelphia, PA in early 1990s by a group of refugees from the
Liberian civil war.  The gang initially formed as a means of self protection from American youths but they are now considered predators in places such as Philadelphia, Minnesota, Rhode island and New York

LRZ - La Raza (The race) – A Hispanic gang.

MC - Mickey Cobras – An African-American gang founded in Chicago, Illinois.

MDC – Most Dangerous Click – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

MLD - Maniac Latin Disciples – A large, Hispanic street gang founded in Chicago, Illinois.

MOB - Men Over Bitches - A North Carolina street gang.

MOB – Member Of Bloods – An African-American street gang.

MOB - My Only Brothers - An African-American street gang in California.

MS – Murder Squad – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

MS-13 - Mara Salvatrucha – A transnational Hispanic gang that has spread to at least 42 states and approximately nine countries.  They are described as America’s most dangerous gang.

MW - Mandingo Warriors – An African-American prison gang founded in Texas in 1984.

NBCC - Nutty Blocc Compton Crips – A Southern California street gang.

NF - Nuestra Familia – A predominantly Hispanic prison gang with ties to the Norteños. The gang that was founded in the California prison system in the 1960s.  Their main rival is the Mexican Mafia.  In some areas they are now established on the streets. 

NLR - Nazi Low Riders – A white supremacist gang founded in Southern California.

NS – Northern Structure – Believed to be a spin-off prison gang of La Nuestra Familia

PBS - Playboy Sureños – A predominantly Hispanic street gang found in multiple locations across the country. PBS 13 and PBS X 3 are a couple of other tags associated with this gang.

PDL - PASADENA DENVER LANES - A Blood set that is known to exist in Pasadena, CA and 

Baltimore, MD.

PTB - Puro Tango Blast - A Texas street/prison gang

RAC - Raymond Ave. Crips – A California African-American street gang.

SB – Soldier Boyz – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

SC - Spanish Cobras - A Hispanic street gang founded in Chicago, Illinois.

SCR - Simon City Royals - A predominantly Caucasian street gang founded in Chicago, Illinois.

SNM – Syndicato Nuevo Mexico (New Mexico Syndicate) - The SNM is considered to be the most violent and most powerful of all of the Security Threat Groups within the New Mexico Department of Corrections.

SSC – South Side Crips – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

SUR 13 - Sureños – (Spanish - Sur means south; Sureños means southerner) – Originated in Southern California as a street gang but has found its way into the prison system and has spread throughout many parts of the United States.  Sureños are considered to be the soldiers for the Mexican Mafia prison gang.   Blue is the gang's traditional color.  The number 13 associates them with the Mexican Mafia – the letter M is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet.  They may also use XIII or X3. 

3C – Triple Cross – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

3Ni – Trinitarios – Trinitarios started in New York City as a prison gang within the NY City Dept of Corrections and then the State DOC, during the early 1990s.

TB - Tango Blast - A street/prison gang based in Texas.

TCB - Texas Chicano Brotherhood -- A predominantly Mexican-American gang founded as a result of an internal rift within the Tri-City Bombers, their bitter South Texas rivals.  The acronym TXCB is sometimes also used.

TCB - Tri-City Bombers -- A predominantly Hispanic street/prison gang.  The TCB originated in the South Texas Rio Grande Valley, in the areas of Pharr, San Juan, and Alamo.

TM - Texas Mafia - A predominantly Caucasian gang founded in the Texas prison system in the early 1980s.

TRG - Tiny Rascal Gangsters - An Asian-American gang, also known as the Tiny Rascal Gang or the Tiny Rascals.

TS - Texas Syndicate - A prison gang, also known as Syndicato Tejano, was founded in the early 1970s in the California prison system. Their gang members are primarily Mexican-American.

TTP - Tree Tops Piru Bloods - A Bloods set that originated in Los Angeles and has spread to several other areas including Baltimore, MD.

UBN - United Blood Nation – Originated about 1993 at Rikers Island prison in New York.  The UBN is now found in many parts of the  East Coast of the United States.

VL - Vatos Locos - A west coast street gang that has spread eastward and may be found in North Carolina, Georgia, and Maryland.

VL - Vice Lords - A large, mostly,  African-American gang street/prison founded in Chicago that now has a national presence. They are also known as the Vice Lord Nation (VLN), Almighty Vice Lord Nation (AVLN), and Conservative Vice Lord Nation (CVLN).

WBP - Wetback Power - A Mexican-American street gang.  Also commonly called Sinaloa Cowboys.

WBC – White Boys Click – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YBB – Young Block Boyz – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YBG – Young Block Girls – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YC – Young Choppers – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YD – Young Diplomats – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YDC – Young Dangerous Click – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YGC – Young Gunna Crew – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YM – Young Mafia – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YM – Young Money – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YP – Young Posse – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YPN – Young Paid Niggaz – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YS – Young Squad, Atlanta – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YSH – Young Squad Hoes – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YSss – Young Squad Stay Strap – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YSM – Young Squad Mafia – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

YT – Young Team – An Atlanta, GA area street gang

ZMF - Zoe Mafia Family - A south Florida Haitian street gang

ZP - Zoe Pound - A violent Haitian street gang in the Miami area

This is the email for TNLF (Throggs Neck – La Famiglia):  chris@tnlafamiglia.org