Guide · Citizenship
My ancestor's name is spelled differently on every document. Is that a problem?
By Natalia Przewoźnik, Trainee Attorney
Usually not, on its own. Polish offices see Americanized surnames every day. A spelling difference becomes a problem when nothing else in the file shows that the documents are about the same person.
A different spelling of your ancestor's name is not, by itself, a ground for refusing to confirm Polish citizenship or to transcribe a U.S. record. The authority needs evidence that the documents concern one person: the same date and place of birth, the same parents, the same spouse. If the difference is in a Polish civil record, a registry office or a court can correct it.
Why is my ancestor's name spelled differently in each document?
On its way into an American file, a Polish name passed through many hands. Russian or Austrian officials wrote it in their own alphabet or spelling. A shipping clerk took it down by ear. Letters such as ł, ś and ż were dropped, and later the family simplified the name. Women's surnames changed in one more way: the Polish feminine ending -ska or -cka often turns up in U.S. records as the masculine -ski or -cki.
Will a different spelling affect my citizenship confirmation?
The voivode may accept any lawful evidence that helps clarify the case (Code of Administrative Procedure, Article 75(1)). Voivodes' offices and the Polish consulate in the United States ask applicants to attach documents that explain a change of name, such as a marriage certificate or a name change decision. Some also list documents confirming a change in spelling.
Trouble starts when the spelling breaks the chain of identity. Say your grandfather's naturalization file gives the same birth date, birthplace and parents as his Polish birth record. Then the new spelling is easy to explain. If the two documents share nothing but a similar surname, the voivode may not accept that they describe the same person.
A great-grandfather was born Jan Wiśniewski near Łomża. He arrived as John Wisniewski and naturalized as John Wishnefsky. His naturalization petition gives the same birth date and village as the Polish birth record, and it names the same wife. Taken together, the three documents point to one man, and the application explains the spellings.
What happens to the name when a U.S. record is transcribed in Poland?
Transcription. Entering a foreign birth, marriage or death certificate into the Polish civil register. A Polish citizen needs it before getting a Polish passport, an ID card or a PESEL number, as we describe in our guide to Polish passports in the U.S.
Transcription copies the foreign document faithfully and literally. The spelling of names stays exactly as it is in the original (Civil Status Records Act, Article 104(2)), and a spelling difference is not one of the grounds for refusing transcription (Article 107).
You can ask for the names to be written in Polish spelling, with the diacritics the U.S. record left out. The registry office then adapts the spelling to Polish rules (Article 104(7)), but only if you make that request in the transcription application itself. You cannot ask for it afterwards. If you file the transcription through the consulate, the fee is $71.
How do you correct a mistake in a Polish civil record?
The head of a registry office corrects a Polish civil record when its data conflict with other records, with earlier records of the same person or their ancestors, or with foreign civil documents. The office does this on request or on its own initiative (Civil Status Records Act, Article 35). When a correction on that basis is not possible, a court makes it in non-contentious proceedings (Article 36). Missing data are supplemented under the same rules (Article 37). After a correction made on request, a full copy of the record costs PLN 39.
Correction of a civil status record. Changing an entry in a Polish birth, marriage or death record so that it agrees with other civil records or foreign documents. It fixes an error in the record. Nobody's name is changed by it.
A change of name is a separate procedure. The Name Change Act treats a change of spelling, and a change of surname to its feminine or masculine form, as a change of name (Article 3). It requires important reasons, for example bringing the name into line with the one a person actually uses, or with the one they hold under the law of another country whose citizen they also are (Article 4). The fee is PLN 37.
Key points
- A spelling difference alone is not a ground for refusing confirmation or transcription.
- The authority looks for evidence that the documents describe one person: dates, places, parents, spouse.
- Transcription copies names exactly. Polish spelling is used only if you ask for it in the same application.
- A registry office corrects errors in Polish records; if it cannot, a court does.
- Correcting a record and changing a name are different procedures, and a name change needs important reasons.
How we help
We go through every document in the family line and sort the differences into those that need a correction and those that only need an explanation. Then, under a power of attorney, we prepare the corrections, the transcription requests and the explanation for the voivode.
Sources
This article is based on the acts listed below. Each link opens the text published by the Polish government, checked on September 20, 2026. Acts in force open as a consolidated text; historical acts are marked as such, with the date they stopped applying.
- Civil Status Records Actconsolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 393
- Name Change Actconsolidated text, Journal of Laws 2021 item 1988
- Code of Administrative Procedureconsolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1691
- Stamp Duty Actconsolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1154
This article is general information about Polish law and is not legal advice about your situation. Legal basis: the Civil Status Records Act of November 28, 2014 (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 393), Articles 35 to 37, 104 and 107; the Name Change Act (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2021 item 1988), Articles 3 and 4; the Code of Administrative Procedure (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1691), Article 75; the Stamp Duty Act (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1154). Information on documents and consular fees is as published by voivodes' offices and the Polish consular service in the United States in October 2026. If you would like to know how this applies to you, describe your situation.
Next step
Make the documents agree
Send copies of the records with the different spellings. The initial inquiry is free, and we will tell you whether we can help before any paid work begins.
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