Names in Translation

A name that is spelled one way on your passport and another way on your certificate is one of the most common reasons documents are questioned. It happens most when a name has to move between alphabets, so it helps to know where the differences come from.

Turkish letters

Turkish uses letters that other alphabets don't have: ç, ğ, ı, İ, ö, ş, ü. Turkish civil registry documents spell names with these letters. Passports and many foreign systems often replace them with plain Latin ones, so a name with an ş may appear with an s elsewhere. A foreign office may see that as a mismatch, even though it is the same person.

Before you submit, compare how your name is written on each document, and ask the receiving office which spelling it expects.

Arabic, Cyrillic and Chinese names

Names written in Arabic, Cyrillic or Chinese characters have no single fixed Latin spelling. The same name can be written in several ways, and each one can be reasonable. When such a document is translated into Latin letters, the translator has to choose one, and a different choice from your passport creates a mismatch.

• Give us your passport. The spelling there is the one most offices will compare against, so the translation should match it.
• Check every family member. A parent's or a spouse's name often has its own spelling on a certificate. Compare those too.
• Watch the order of names. Given name, family name and patronymic don't always appear in the same order in different countries.

What a translation does with a name

A translation reproduces what the document says. If a name is wrong or inconsistent on the original, the translation does not fix it, and the problem is carried forward. If you spot a difference between documents, tell us before the translation starts, so that we can advise you on the options. Our guide to preparing documents for sworn translation explains what to send us.

Mistakes that cost time

• Not comparing documents with the passport. Do it before you order anything, so a mismatch is found early.
• Assuming the translator will match your passport automatically. Give us the passport or tell us the spelling you need.
• Different spellings across a family. A child's certificate, a spouse's passport and a parent's ID may all differ.
• Ignoring Turkish letters. A missing dot or cedilla is enough for some offices to raise a question.
• Not asking the receiving office. It decides which spelling it accepts. See Why Documents Get Rejected.

How we help

Send us the document and your passport, and tell us which office will receive it. We will compare the spellings, flag any differences and agree with you which version to use before the translation starts. Our guide to the Turkish document terms may also help when you read your certificates.