Different spellings of your name in documents: how to prepare your question

Differences in transliteration often come to light when you put your documents together. They should be described and clarified with the receiving authority, not corrected at your own discretion.

Make a table of discrepancies

Note the document, the language, the spelling of the name and the date of issue. Mark separately which documents have already been used in the current procedure. Do not edit scans to make the entries look the same.

Get an answer that fits the purpose of the documents

Ask the authority or a professional how to show in your situation that the documents belong together. For the translation, show the official spellings already in use. If a separate confirmation is required, find out its form and the issuing body before ordering it.

How to compile the table

Copy the exact spelling from each document, together with its language, date and purpose. Note changes of surname and differences in transliteration separately without drawing your own conclusions about their legal significance. Do not edit the original scans to make them match. Show the receiving authority which documents have already been used and for which current procedure the others are needed. This makes the question verifiable: the aim is to establish an acceptable way of proving the link between the documents, not to pick the spelling you are most used to.

How to avoid a new error in the translation

Before work starts, tell the translator the official spellings already in use and the purpose of the documents. This is not permission to change facts in the original; the aim is to agree on the correct way of rendering names in the required context. When you receive the translation, check every part of the name and the related dates. If a correction is needed, use the procedure the translator provides and keep the final version. Do not take one correctly spelled name as confirmation of the whole translation. If the recipient has additional requirements, find out about them before placing a new order so you do not repeat the work without a precise brief.

Next step

The aim of your preparation is to make the discrepancy understandable and to find out the right way to confirm it.