Name Spelling in Translated Documents

In a translated document, your name should normally be spelled exactly as it appears in your passport, even if the original script could be romanised another way. Differences arise from transliteration, name order, diacritics and patronymics. Tell the translator your passport spelling before they start, and ask for a translator's note wherever the original suggests a different form.

Key takeaways

• Your passport spelling is the reference point most receiving bodies use. Give it to the translator for every name, including your parents'.
• Names in other scripts can be romanised in several valid ways. A translation that picks a different one creates a mismatch.
• Name order, diacritics, patronymics and gendered surname forms are common sources of difference.
• A translator's note can link the passport spelling to the form in the original, without changing the translation's accuracy.
• If the original record itself is wrong, a translation cannot fix it. The record must be corrected at its source, or the difference explained.

Why do names come out differently in translations?

A translator's first duty is to render the original faithfully. For a name written in Latin letters, that is easy. For a name in Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Greek, Hebrew, Korean, Thai or many other scripts, the translator has to transliterate it, and there are usually several accepted systems. The same Arabic name may be written Mohammad, Mohamad, Muhammad or Mohammed; the same Chinese family name may be Chen or Chan depending on the language and region; the same Korean family name may be Lee, Yi or Rhee.

Your passport has already made one of those choices, and every other document you submit will be compared with it. If the translator chooses differently, the case officer sees two spellings and has to ask whether they are the same person. The fix is simple if done early: tell the translator how your passport spells each name before they begin. Our guide to NAATI certified translations explains what translators need from you.

What other differences cause problems?

Transliteration is only one source of mismatch. Several others come up regularly, and each has a straightforward fix if the translator knows about it in advance.

• Name order. Many cultures write the family name first. A translation may keep that order while your passport separates surname and given names differently.
• Diacritics. Accents and marks, as in Vietnamese, Turkish or many European languages, are often dropped in passports but present in originals.
• Patronymics and middle names. Russian, Greek, Arabic and other names may include a father's name that the passport shows as a middle name, or omits.
• Gendered surnames. In Greek, Czech, Polish, Lithuanian and other languages, a woman's surname takes a different ending from a man's.
• Initials and short forms. Some documents, such as Sri Lankan school records, show initials instead of full given names.
• Additional names. An English given name used alongside a Chinese name, or a religious or baptismal name, may appear on some documents only.

Should the translator change the name to match your passport?

A translator must stay faithful to the original, so they cannot invent a name that is not there. But for names in another script, there is no single "correct" romanisation, so using the passport spelling is both faithful and consistent. Most translators are happy to do this, and many ask for your passport for exactly that reason.

Where the original clearly says something different from the passport, for example a different given name or an extra name, the translator should translate what the original says, and may add a clearly marked translator's note, such as "Name as shown in passport: ...". That keeps the translation accurate while showing the link. What a translator should not do is silently change a name to make documents agree.

What if the original record itself is wrong?

Sometimes the problem is not the translation but the source: a birth certificate with a misspelled name, a wrong date of birth, or a marriage certificate that records a name differently from every other document. No translation can fix that, because the translation must reflect the original.

You then have two routes. The better one, where possible, is to have the record corrected by the issuing authority in the country concerned, and to translate the corrected version. Where correction is impossible or would take too long, the difference can often be explained with a statutory declaration, supported by other documents that show the correct details. Ask the receiving body which it will accept. Our guide to mismatched names covers how to link documents that disagree.

How do you explain a difference that cannot be fixed?

Receiving bodies generally accept that names vary between countries and scripts. What they need is a clear, credible explanation that links the versions to one person. That usually means a set of documents that together show the connection, such as a birth certificate, a marriage certificate and a change of name record, together with a statutory declaration stating that the different spellings all refer to you.

In Australia, such a declaration is often called a one and the same person declaration. It is witnessed by an authorised person, such as a JP for Australian use, or a notary if it is going overseas. Our guide to statutory declarations explains how they are made.

Situation	Usual fix
Translator chose a different romanisation	Ask for the translation to use the passport spelling
Original shows an extra or different name	Translate as is, with a translator's note linking to the passport
Name order unclear in the translation	Ask the translator to mark which part is the family name
Diacritics dropped in the passport	Keep them in the translation, with the passport form noted
Original record contains an error	Correct it at the source, or explain with a declaration
Name changed by marriage or deed	Provide the marriage certificate or change of name record

What about your parents' names?

Birth certificates, family registers and marriage certificates often show your parents' names, and those can create mismatches too, particularly when they are compared with your parents' own passports in a parent or family visa application. Give the translator your parents' passport spellings as well as your own, if you have them. Where a parent has died or has no passport, another official document, such as a national identity card or death certificate, can serve as the reference instead. Where a parent's name appears differently on different documents, the same approach applies: a consistent spelling with a translator's note, or an explanation.

What about documents going overseas?

The same problem arises in reverse when Australian documents are translated for use abroad. An overseas registry may expect your name in its own script or its own romanisation system, and a translator in that country may render it differently from your Australian documents. Ask the receiving body how it wants your name written, and give the translator your passport spelling and any official form of your name already recorded in that country, for example on a residence permit or tax registration.

If an Australian document carries an apostille, remember that the apostille certifies the signature and seal, not your current name. A name difference between the apostilled document and your passport is not a fault in the apostille, but it may still need explaining.

How do you prepare for a translation?

1. Collect your passport, and your parents' passports if their names appear on the documents.
2. List every version of each name across your documents before you order the translation.
3. Tell the translator the passport spellings and ask for translator's notes where the original differs.
4. Check the translation: spelling, name order and which part is the family name.
5. Prepare an explanation, such as a declaration and linking documents, for any difference that remains.

What does this look like in practice?

Here is an illustration, not a real case. Dmitri's birth certificate is in Russian and shows his name with a patronymic. His passport spells his surname Ivanov, but an earlier translation used Ivanoff, and his father's patronymic appeared in two different forms.

For a new partner visa application, he gives the translator his passport and his father's, and lists every version of the names. The translator uses the passport spellings throughout, translates the patronymic as it appears, and adds a translator's note linking it to his father's passport. Dmitri also includes a short statutory declaration explaining the old spelling Ivanoff. The case officer raises no questions.

In short

Names in translations often differ from passports because of transliteration, name order, diacritics, patronymics and gendered forms. Give the translator your passport spellings before they start, ask for translator's notes where the original differs, and check the result. If the original record is wrong, correct it at the source or explain it with a statutory declaration and linking documents.

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Names not lining up across your documents? Send us the documents and your passport details, and we will explain each step. For translation with notarial certification, see our NAATI translation with notary certification service.