Greek to English translation

Your name in Latin letters

The Hellenic Passport Service spells names in Latin letters to the ELOT 743 standard, the Greek equivalent of ISO 843, though some passports carry an agreed spelling instead. The translation copies your passport’s spelling rather than transliterating afresh, so the two match letter for letter.

Source: Hellenic Passport Service, ELOT 743 converter (checked 19 September 2026)

Surnames and fathers’ names

A Greek woman’s surname is usually the genitive form of the family name, Papadopoulou beside Papadopoulos, and Greek records name each person’s father and often the mother. The translation keeps every form as printed and labels the father’s name as such, so no one reads it as a middle name. Greek spouses also keep their own surnames on marriage, so a couple’s documents often show two.

The family status certificate

The pistopoiitiko oikogeneiakis katastasis sets out a family’s entry in the municipal register: spouse, children and their details. Gov.gr now issues it only for court use, the private sector or use abroad, so ask for the version for use abroad. Every person listed is translated, with the municipality, the register entry number and the date of issue.

Source: gov.gr, family status certificate (checked 19 September 2026)

The whole licence

Both sides of the card: surname and given names, date and place of birth, issue and expiry dates, the issuing authority, the licence number, and each category on the back with its dates and any code, written out in words.

Accents and forms kept

Greek names change form with grammar. The translation uses the nominative form your passport shows for you, and keeps other people’s names in the forms the document gives them, with the passport spelling where one exists.

Civil records in full

Birth, marriage, divorce and death records, family status certificates, criminal record extracts, degrees and transcripts. Every stamp, seal and later annotation is translated where it appears; unreadable text is marked in square brackets.