Page 10 | Names spelled with diacritics

Anonymousmember667 · 2025-07-26T07:40:02+00:00

Apologies if this has been discussed or answered before but I have a question if anyone knows the answer, or who to ask or has any experience please? So some names have diacritics, usually the name originates from another language other than english. Maybe the most common ones being Seán, Siobhán, Chloé, Zoë, René, Beyoncé etc etc. Say for example, the name Chloé, Are there any issues registering this name with the diacritic on the “e” in England; on the Birth Certificate, with the NHS, in the school system, with banks, on her passport, driving licence etc etc. Most people wouldnt know but Its simple to press the alt gr button + the letter to get most of these diacritics on a keyboard or hold the button on an apple keyboard, but do government systems and organisations systems generally support diacritic names? Is there a right or expectation for organisations to spell your name correctly in England? Doesn't GDPR say this? Is she destined for a lifetime of her name being spelt wrong or is she allowed to be a Chloé with an “é” !? Thanks for any advise or experience anyone has 🙏

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Original poster

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 11:17

ErrolTheDragon · 26/07/2025 11:11

Å isn’t a mere accent, it’s a separate letter in the Swedish alphabet which has 29 letters, and also the Danish/norwegian which also have 29 but two of them are different from Swedish - they still have the Æ and Ø.

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This is a great point too.

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Morgenrot25 · 26/07/2025 11:17

Umlauts matter, schwul versus schwül. :) I can tolerate one better than the other (I hate humid weather).

HotCrossBunplease · 26/07/2025 11:16

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 11:12

Because it seems strange to me that one government department (births, deaths and marriages) recognises names
with accents/ diacritics and another one ( home office) does not. Why are they inconsistent?

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That’s a different question to “is this correct?” when you had the official document right in front of you.

And the inconsistency is also explained in the document- to comply with ICAO regulations. Just read the bloody document!

Flossflower · 26/07/2025 11:14

Hollyhobbi · 26/07/2025 10:57

It’s not Gaelic, it’s Gaeilge or Irish. And an Irish speaker is a gaeilgeoir.

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Gaeilge is the Irish name for the language. English would use Gaelic ( yes I know it is a group of languages.)
I might say a French person spoke French they would say Francais.

Original poster

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 11:12

HotCrossBunplease · 26/07/2025 11:07

Why are you asking if this correct when that PP @BlueyNeedsToFuckOff included a link to the official Home Office guidance that says in very clear terms that diacritic marks are not allowed?

I would also point out that the Home Office explain that their policy is set in order to comply with ICAO regulations (International Civil Aviation Organisation). I suspect that the EU has the same policy so the millions of EU citizens who have diacritics in their names (and come from countries where they DO know how to read them) do not have them either. Have you ever seen an Irish person’s EU passport?

If I recall correctly from when I learned French they often omit accents when writing in capital letters, yet still manage to read what is written.

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Because it seems strange to me that one government department (births, deaths and marriages) recognises names
with accents/ diacritics and another one ( home office) does not. Why are they inconsistent?

OP posts:

ErrolTheDragon · 26/07/2025 11:11

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 10:56

Even better example as he has two diacritics, So if baby Ångström is born in England, is he allowed his name correctly spelled at birth registration, and a lifetime of correspondence with government agencies and all others? Its not about how its pronounced, is he allowed or entitled to or have a right to his name being spelled correctly, legally even.

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Å isn’t a mere accent, it’s a separate letter in the Swedish alphabet which has 29 letters, and also the Danish/norwegian which also have 29 but two of them are different from Swedish - they still have the Æ and Ø.

Lacitlyana · 26/07/2025 11:08

BlueandPinkSwan · 26/07/2025 11:03

It always so good to know that whatever the subject at least one person will know five or six trans women, or five people who have 3 or more gifted kids et al.

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I can't prove it of course but strangely there are 3 Zoes amongst my work colleagues' children - mine and 2 others. One born in 2008, one in 2010, one in 2014. The 4th is my daughter's head teacher. The 5th is a team member of a parallel team (she is the Zoey).

Why would I lie about something so trivial? To prove that I know that people do still use the accent?

Maybe it's significant but the 3 using the diaresis are the kids.

niadainud · 26/07/2025 11:07

I always thought it was spelt Chloë.

HotCrossBunplease · 26/07/2025 11:07

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 09:57

Actually Siân is good example as its a welsh. But a PP said accented names are not allowed on UK passports, is that correct? A Siân has to just be Sian on a UK passport?

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Why are you asking if this correct when that PP @BlueyNeedsToFuckOff included a link to the official Home Office guidance that says in very clear terms that diacritic marks are not allowed?

I would also point out that the Home Office explain that their policy is set in order to comply with ICAO regulations (International Civil Aviation Organisation). I suspect that the EU has the same policy so the millions of EU citizens who have diacritics in their names (and come from countries where they DO know how to read them) do not have them either. Have you ever seen an Irish person’s EU passport?

If I recall correctly from when I learned French they often omit accents when writing in capital letters, yet still manage to read what is written.

BlueandPinkSwan · 26/07/2025 11:06

SilenceOfTheTimTams · 26/07/2025 11:04

My daughter Ænåbẽłlë has to put up with this. I have to make thousands of GDPR rectification requests every year.

Apparently I have a nickname at the Information Commissioner’s Office, but I haven’t been able to discover what it is yet.

Like it, going to put that name forward for any future gds😄

Original poster

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 11:05

SilenceOfTheTimTams · 26/07/2025 11:04

My daughter Ænåbẽłlë has to put up with this. I have to make thousands of GDPR rectification requests every year.

Apparently I have a nickname at the Information Commissioner’s Office, but I haven’t been able to discover what it is yet.

best answer so far!! 😂

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SilenceOfTheTimTams · 26/07/2025 11:04

My daughter Ænåbẽłlë has to put up with this. I have to make thousands of GDPR rectification requests every year.

Apparently I have a nickname at the Information Commissioner’s Office, but I haven’t been able to discover what it is yet.

BlueandPinkSwan · 26/07/2025 11:03

Lacitlyana · 26/07/2025 10:19

Lol. I don't know everyone called Zoë in this country, so sadly I cannot give exact numbers! But I do know 5 Zoë's and 3 of them use the dots when handwriting, one is plain Zoe, and the 5th is Zoey.
I only know one Chloë and she uses the diaresis as well.
You said 'i doubt anyone in this country is spelling Zoe or Chloe with an accent anymore'. Well they are.

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It always so good to know that whatever the subject at least one person will know five or six trans women, or five people who have 3 or more gifted kids et al.

Original poster

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 11:02

Octavia64 · 26/07/2025 09:42

Yes you can, we registered my daughter’s name with a diacritic and it’s on all her official documentation.

Which documentation please? On her birth certificate as I guess thats everyones first official document. What others?

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FightingTemeraire · 26/07/2025 11:02

Elbowpatch · 26/07/2025 09:41

As the vast majority of people in the UK have no idea what the little dots and squiggles above letters in foreign languages mean, does it matter?

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Ignorance is not a reason for the bearer of a name to be fine with it being mis-spelled. ‘Sean’ (without the síne fada, pronounced ‘Shan’) means “old’, for instance. The fada, as well as changing the pronunciation, changes the meaning in many words. ‘Briste’ means ‘broken, ‘bríste’ means trousers. ‘Mala’ means eyebrow, ‘mála’ means bag. ‘Ban’ means woman, ‘bán’ means white.

OP, I lived in the UK for almost 30 years with one of those names. I corrected mis-spellings every single time, but routinely left my fadas off online firms, which almost never accepted them.

Morgenrot25 · 26/07/2025 11:01

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 10:56

Even better example as he has two diacritics, So if baby Ångström is born in England, is he allowed his name correctly spelled at birth registration, and a lifetime of correspondence with government agencies and all others? Its not about how its pronounced, is he allowed or entitled to or have a right to his name being spelled correctly, legally even.

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Not 100% up on that one, but some other languages allow another option.
The German the ä can be written as ae ,ö as oe, and ü as ue. The ß can also be written as ss.

Morgenrot25 · 26/07/2025 10:57

I think the short answer is no - if you are originally of non-UK origin then if you have an original document showing the original name with accent, umlaut etc, then perhaps you can. However then bear in mind that a flight ticket etc possibly couldn't be booked with that exact name. I understand if your name is of non-UK origin for a specific reason, or you were named out with the UK, then you have to find ways to deal with this, but tbh if you are a British person then perhaps don't do things which complicate life for your child? There are loads of lovely names that don't need additional lines or dots, and everyone knows that Chloe is pronounced Chloee - nobody would say Chloh!

sashh · 26/07/2025 10:57

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 10:50

I only picked Chloé as an example, maybe Chloë is the correct way to spell the name 🤷‍♂️.

just asking do the government or organisations recognise and accept your name if its spelt with a diacritic/ accent in the UK and Wngland specifically, as Scotland Wales and NI may be different as they have language acts I believe with may give extra rights 🤷‍♂️

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It's probably about the software they use. Modern day systems should be able to cope with it.

Hollyhobbi · 26/07/2025 10:57

OhHellolittleone · 26/07/2025 09:51

Except it’s correctly spelt if it is spelt in the way you intended. Plenty Irish people in Ireland do not use the accent. Obviously the fada, or lack thereof, can change the meaning in Gaelic, but unless you’re a Gaelic speaker i
this isn’t such an issue.

Chloé will find she’s either called chlo-ay, or it is missed off… do you want it pronounced in a French accent?

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It’s not Gaelic, it’s Gaeilge or Irish. And an Irish speaker is a gaeilgeoir.

Original poster

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 10:56

ErrolTheDragon · 26/07/2025 10:45

I don’t know about umlauts but Swedish names can start with ‘A-ring’ - the most obvious example is Ångström, the Swedish physicist after which the non SI unit of length the ångström is named. Although the unit is now commonly referred to as the angstrom, its symbol is Å not A.

(‘Commonly’ among chemists and structural biologists - the ångström is a tenth of a nanometre which is conveniently the same order of magnitude as chemical bond lengths. It’s the unit of length I use most often!😂)

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Even better example as he has two diacritics, So if baby Ångström is born in England, is he allowed his name correctly spelled at birth registration, and a lifetime of correspondence with government agencies and all others? Its not about how its pronounced, is he allowed or entitled to or have a right to his name being spelled correctly, legally even.

OP posts:

JessyCarr · 26/07/2025 10:56

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 10:00

And a good solid royal king of the english name like Æthelstan ?

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Poor Æthelstan, dying a thousand years before he could invoke GDPR!

The ash (first letter of his name) was obsolete before Modern English, which is why it isn’t the 27th letter of the alphabet.

Morgenrot25 · 26/07/2025 10:52

BlueandPinkSwan · 26/07/2025 10:37

Unless you are of German /French etc extract this all sounds pretentious.
Majority of people won't understand or even care about diacritics.

Swedish, Danish, Turkish, Russian, Ukranian?

Morgenrot25 · 26/07/2025 10:51

ErrolTheDragon · 26/07/2025 10:45

I don’t know about umlauts but Swedish names can start with ‘A-ring’ - the most obvious example is Ångström, the Swedish physicist after which the non SI unit of length the ångström is named. Although the unit is now commonly referred to as the angstrom, its symbol is Å not A.

(‘Commonly’ among chemists and structural biologists - the ångström is a tenth of a nanometre which is conveniently the same order of magnitude as chemical bond lengths. It’s the unit of length I use most often!😂)

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I love that word - in a past life (not actual past life, a long time ago) I did a degree in Biochemistry and Pharmacology (and then a PhD in a related field) - thanks for the memory. :)

Original poster

Anonymousmember667 · 26/07/2025 10:50

sashh · 26/07/2025 10:39

Interesting, I have only ever seen it as Chloë.

I only picked Chloé as an example, maybe Chloë is the correct way to spell the name 🤷‍♂️.

just asking do the government or organisations recognise and accept your name if its spelt with a diacritic/ accent in the UK and Wngland specifically, as Scotland Wales and NI may be different as they have language acts I believe with may give extra rights 🤷‍♂️

OP posts:

Lacitlyana · 26/07/2025 10:47

Ddakji · 26/07/2025 10:39

I stand corrected from your anecdotal data.

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Well yes, your claim was also baseless was it not? At least I have anecdotal data, which is a step up from presumption.