CE stands for “common (or current) era”, while BCE stands for “before the common (or current) era”. These abbreviations have a shorter history than BC and AD, although they still date from at least the early 1700s.

What is BC BCE AD and CE?

Simply put, BCE (Before Common Era) is a secular version of BC (before Christ). CE (Common Era) is the secular equivalent of AD (anno Domini), which means “in the year of the Lord” in Latin. A timeline showing that BC and AD mean the same thing as BCE and CE.

What comes first BC CE or BCE?

Before the Common Era (BCE) is the era before CE. The Dionysian era distinguishes eras using the notations BC (Before Christ) and AD (Latin: Anno Domini, in [the] year of [the] Lord).