In short
- In a certified translation, names should match the passport's personal details page exactly, even if another spelling looks more natural in English.
- Greek and Cypriot passports use the ELOT 743 transcription system, so Γεώργιος becomes Georgios, not George.
- Greek women's surnames often appear in the genitive form, such as Papadopoulou, and must not be "corrected" to the masculine form.
- Albanian ë and ç and French accents should appear exactly as in the passport; the machine-readable lines at the bottom of a passport use only the letters A to Z.
The most common problem we see in translated documents isn't a mistranslated word. It's a name spelled differently from one document to the next. If your birth certificate says George, your passport says Georgios and your marriage certificate says Yiorgos, an officer has to work out whether they are the same person. That can mean questions and delays.
The rule for every certified translation is: names follow the passport.
Why must names match the passport?
Immigration offices, universities and employers match people across documents by name and date of birth. Your passport is the anchor document. If a translator "improves" a name into a familiar English form, the translation no longer matches the passport, even though the translation itself is accurate.
When you order, give us the spelling from each person's passport. If someone in a document has no passport, for example a grandparent, we use the official transliteration standard and say so.
How are Greek names written in Latin letters?
Greek and Cypriot passports use the ELOT 743 transcription system, which is also the basis of the UN-recommended system. Some of its rules:
| Greek | Latin | Example |
|---|---|---|
| β | v | Βασίλης → Vasilis |
| η | i | Ελένη → Eleni |
| χ | ch | Χρήστος → Christos |
| ου | ou | Σταύρου → Stavrou |
| αυ, ευ | av, ev before vowels and voiced consonants; af, ef before voiceless consonants and at the end of a word | Ευάγγελος → Evangelos |
| γγ | ng | Ευάγγελος → Evangelos |
Since a 2011 legal decision, a person's preferred spelling, such as Demetrios, can appear on official documents alongside the standard form. That's why the passport, not a rule table, is the final word.
Greek women's surnames
Many Greek women's surnames are in the genitive form: Παπαδοπούλου (Papadopoulou), not Παπαδόπουλος (Papadopoulos). Changing it to the masculine form creates a mismatch with the passport.
Father's and mother's names
Greek records list the father's name (πατρώνυμο) and mother's name (μητρώνυμο). These are separate fields, not middle names, and the translation should label them as such.
How are Albanian names handled?
Albanian uses the Latin alphabet with two extra letters, ë and ç, and letter pairs such as dh, gj, ll, nj, rr, sh, th, xh and zh. These are already in Latin script, so nothing is transliterated. The question is only whether the passport keeps the diacritics:
| On the document | Passport shows | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Arbër Çela | ARBËR ÇELA | Arbër Çela |
| Arbër Çela | ARBER CELA | Arber Cela |
How are French names handled?
French names keep their accents and hyphens in the translation if the passport's personal details page shows them: Hélène, Lefèvre, Jean-François. They are never anglicised: Hélène does not become Helen.
What about the lines at the bottom of the passport?
The two lines of characters at the bottom of a passport, the machine-readable zone, use only the letters A to Z and the < symbol, so accents and special letters are removed there. Use the spelling on the personal details page above it, not the machine-readable lines.
Dates: the other common mismatch
Greece, Albania and France write dates day first. In the US, 04/03/1990 would be read as 3 April. Writing the month in words, as in 4 March 1990, removes the risk on both sides of the Atlantic.
Frequently asked questions
My name is spelled differently on two of my documents. What should the translation say?
The translation reflects the original document, but the translator should use the passport spelling for the person's name and can add a translator's note if the original uses a different form. Tell us about any differences when you order.
Can the translator use the English version of my name, like George?
Only if that is how your passport spells it. Otherwise it creates a mismatch.
What if a family member in the document has no passport?
For Greek, we use the ELOT 743 standard and note this. For Albanian and French, the name stays as written in the original, in Latin script.
Do you check names against the passport for every order?
Yes. The order form asks for each person's name exactly as it appears in their passport, and we apply that spelling throughout. Start your order.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Romanization of Greek (ELOT 743 and Greek passports)
- UK Government: Greece toponymic factfile
- 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3): USCIS translation requirement
This article is general information based on published guidance as of 31 October 2026. It is not legal or immigration advice, and requirements can change. Always check the current requirements with the office handling your case. Lexiveris Translations provides translation services only and is not affiliated with any government agency.