What Does Fam Mean In Texting? (Answered!)

FAM is short for family, and in texting slang it refers to your closest group of friends or individual friends. It can be a way of addressing someone individually or a group as a whole. It’s not just text slang either and is frequently used face to face. It’s just a friendly form of address.

FAM is one of those terms that started off with the very specific meaning we mentioned above, but which has become much broader in its meaning since then.

In any case this is still the main meaning of the term, and how it is most widely used.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What does FAM stand for in texting?

FAM isn’t an acronym in the way that a lot of other texting slang is.

It is simply a shortening of the word “family.”

It can mean ones family, as in their literal, blood relatives.

It is something that people say to refer to their brothers and sisters and their parents. “I can’t come out tonight. Got dinner with the fam,” for example.

It’s one of those words which just lends itself to a shortening.

However, in more common use, it tends to mean ones closest circle of friends.

They are, in a sense, like your family.

When used in texting, then, it’s much more likely that this is the intended meaning. It’s a way of addressing someone, most commonly.

“Are you coming out FAM?” for example. It just means friend.

It does definitely have broader application, though.

Even in texting, it can still just be a way of referring to anyone, even someone you don’t know well. It’s sort of like just calling someone “friend” or “pal” or something like that, even when you aren’t familiar.

“Thanks for the help, fam!” for example. It doesn’t have to be someone you know well.

It can also be either an individual term or one for a larger group.

“I’m going to the cinema with my fam later,” for example.

This could mean a group of friends or a family.

It’s a pretty broad term then, and one that can have a few meanings in text speech depending on the context.

Usually, though, it is just used as a casual way to refer to people in a friendly manner.

Where did this term come from, then?

Where did FAM come from?

Though this term is in very widespread use now, it is not all that old.

It’s been well documented in use in England since the early 2000s, and so probably predates that by some years, too.

It’s part of Black English slang, and it made its way into broader texting slang through this.

Originally, it’s thought it was part of the larger word “famalam”, which meant “friends and family.”

This was then shortened to fam, which took on a broader meaning.

It also seems to have been in use in American hip-hop in the 1990s, so this may be where it came into British usage.

However, today, it is much more heavily associated with the British today than it is with the U.S.A.

Unlike a lot of similar texting abbreviations, then, it arose first in spoken language, and not out of a simple need to reduce the time spent typing things out tediously on an alphanumeric keyboard.

It’s rather a spoken word slang that made its way into texting language.

Does this term mean the same thing on social media?

What does FAM mean on social media?

Typically, fam has the same meaning on social media that it does in texting and indeed in spoken slang.

It’s a way of referring to your close friends and perhaps your family.

How this phrase is used may depend heavily on the person, especially when it comes to social media.

Many young people simply naturally use this slang term all the time, and can just refer to anyone, though usually friends.

However, some on social media who do not naturally use the term in speech may use it in a semi-ironic way to refer to their actual family.

“I can’t believe my fam, they’re crazy!” for example. It’s meant as a sort of joke, in the sense simply that it’s not something you’d hear that person saying in real life. It’s a bit of an odd one in that way, then.

Does fam have any other potential meanings?

What else does FAM mean?

So, fam really doesn’t have any other widely used meanings.

However, you do need to think about the context in which it’s being used to figure out what exactly it means.

It can mean a few different things. It can mean one’s blood relations, it can mean one’s close friends, it could mean just your wider group of friends, or it could even just mean someone you don’t even know.

“I got you fam” could be something you’d say to your brother, your closest friend, or someone you’ve never even met before.

It means you’ll do something for someone, but there’s no guarantee about what “fam” means in that context.

FAM is a great piece of slang that you’ll hear just about anywhere now. Its origins were quite specific but it has since ballooned out into much broader and wider use.

It definitely is a texting term that has its own kind of application for texting and social media, but it is also just a general slang term used in everyday speech, too. It can be either!

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Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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