Greek Transliterator
Romanise Greek with the ELOT 743 passport table or reversible ISO 843 transliteration.
Follows pronunciation: αυ becomes av or af depending on what follows, and μπ is b at a word edge. This is the UN-approved system used on Greek passports.
If you already hold a Greek passport, the spelling printed in it is the one to use on tickets and applications. Greek authorities also allow a different spelling to be registered on request, so an established Latin form of a family name can be kept.
ELOT 743 defines two systems. The transcription used on passports follows pronunciation, so Σταύρος becomes Stavros and Ελευθέριος becomes Eleftherios. The reversible transliteration keeps every letter recoverable, giving Stauros and Eleutherios instead.
Two systems, one standard
ELOT 743 — identical to ISO 843, and approved by the UN in 1987 for geographic names — contains two conversion systems, and mixing them is the most common mistake made with Greek romanisation.
Transcription follows how the word sounds. It is what the Greek passport authority applies, what appears on road signs, and what the UN adopted for maps. Because Greek spelling preserves ancient forms that modern pronunciation has moved away from, this system makes changes that look surprising on paper: β is v, and the pair αυ becomes av or af depending on the sound that follows it.
Transliteration is reversible. Every Latin string maps back to exactly one Greek original, which matters for library catalogues and linguistic work. It uses macrons for η and ω, and it keeps αυ as au. This is the version most general reference tables show, which is precisely why people arrive at the wrong spelling for a passport.
Why β is not b
In ancient Greek β was a b sound, and that is why English words built from Greek roots use b — biology, barometer. Modern Greek shifted that letter to a v sound, so transcription writes v. The b sound now exists in Greek as the pair μπ, which is why Μπάμπης transcribes as Bampis and the beer is bira, written μπίρα.
Worked example: Σταύρος and Ελευθέριος
Both hinge on the vowel pair rule, and they resolve in opposite directions:
- 1 Work left to right, taking pairs first. Σ-τ-αυ-ρ-ο-ς: the αυ is a unit, not two independent letters.
- 2 Look at what follows the pair. In Σταύρος the αυ is followed by ρ, a voiced sound, so it takes the v form: av.
- 3 Assemble the rest. Σ is S, τ is t, ρ is r, ο is o, final ς is s — giving Stavros.
- 4 Now compare Ελευθέριος. Here ευ is followed by θ, which is voiceless, so it takes the f form: ef.
- 5 Read the result. Eleftherios — the same vowel pair, romanised differently, purely because of the next letter.
Greek letters in ELOT 743 transcription
The single letters. Transliteration differs only on η and ω, which take macrons.
| Greek | Transcription | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Α α | a | — |
| Β β | v | Not b — that is μπ |
| Γ γ | g | — |
| Δ δ | d | — |
| Ε ε | e | — |
| Ζ ζ | z | — |
| Η η | i | ī in transliteration |
| Θ θ | th | — |
| Ι ι | i | — |
| Κ κ | k | — |
| Λ λ | l | — |
| Μ μ | m | — |
| Ν ν | n | — |
| Ξ ξ | x | — |
| Ο ο | o | — |
| Π π | p | — |
| Ρ ρ | r | — |
| Σ σ ς | s | ς is the word-final form |
| Τ τ | t | — |
| Υ υ | y | — |
| Φ φ | f | — |
| Χ χ | ch | — |
| Ψ ψ | ps | — |
| Ω ω | o | ō in transliteration |
Letter pairs with their own rules
Everything not listed here is simply the sum of its letters — αι is ai, ει is ei, οι is oi, γκ is gk, and ντ is nt.
| Greek | Transcription | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| αυ | av / af | v before a vowel or voiced consonant, otherwise f |
| ευ | ev / ef | Same rule — Ευαγγελία is Evangelia, Ελευθέριος is Eleftherios |
| ηυ | iv / if | Same rule, on the rarer η pair |
| ου | ou | Always — Ουρανία is Ourania |
| μπ | b / mp | b at the start or end of a word, mp in the middle |
| γγ | ng | Άγγελος is Angelos |
| γξ | nx | |
| γχ | nch |
Your passport wins
As with every romanisation standard, the spelling already printed in your passport is the one to use on tickets, visas, and applications, even where this table would produce something different. Greek authorities also allow an applicant to register a different Latin spelling on request, which matters for families whose surname has an established English form from emigration records.
Two practical notes. Accents carry no information in the Latin output — passports are issued in plain capitals, so Άγγελος and Αγγελος both give ANGELOS. And the final sigma ς is the same letter as σ, written differently only because it ends a word, so both transcribe as s.
The transcription is deliberately not reversible: because η, ι, and υ can all give i, and ο and ω both give o, you cannot recover the Greek spelling from the Latin. That is the trade the standard makes for readability, and it is why the reversible transliteration exists alongside it rather than instead of it.