Transliteration
The rendering of a name from one writing system into another, which produces several valid spellings of the same name.
Updated 2026-07-26
There is no single correct way to write a name from a non-Latin script in Latin letters. Different authorities use different conventions, and the same person can appear on two lists under two spellings that share few characters.
Name order compounds the problem. Family name first, family name last, patronymics included or dropped, particles attached or separate — all of these are ordinary variation, not error.
This is why lists publish alias sets and why searching for one spelling is not enough. A search that returns nothing has told you about the spelling you used, not about the person.
Related terms
4 entries- False positive
- A search result that resembles the query but refers to a different person or entity.
- Name match score
- A number expressing how closely a search term resembles a recorded name, and nothing more.
- Strong alias
- An alternative name an authority publishes without a reliability warning, such as a former legal name.
- Weak alias
- A name variant an authority publishes with a warning that it is too common or too partial to identify anyone on its own.
Where this appears in the data
Written for reading the records published here. This is not a legal, tax or accounting definition, and where a jurisdiction defines the term precisely, that definition governs.