Slovak Translation

A Turkish woman's surname may appear on a Slovak document as "Yılmazová". That is not an error but the rule of the language, and it breaks matching against Turkish records directly.

4 min readLast updated 2 September 2026

Short answer

Slovak women's surnames take the ending -ová, and the rule was formerly applied to foreign names as well. A change in 2021 allows women to register without it. Slovakia is a party to the Convention, so the apostille chain is valid.

Women's surnames: -ová; optional since 2021
Separate field: Birth surname (rodné priezvisko)
Closest language: Czech; a separate oath record is required
Apostille: Slovakia and Türkiye are both parties

The -ová ending and foreign names

A Slovak woman's surname is formed by adding -ová to the male form: Novák becomes Nováková. The ending is required by the grammar, not chosen. For many years the rule was applied to foreign names too: a Turkish woman registering in Slovakia could have her surname written Yılmazová.

How the ending is applied
Male form	Female form	Note
Novák	Nováková	A Slovak surname
Horváth	Horváthová	A surname of Hungarian origin
Yılmaz	Yılmazová	A Turkish surname with the ending applied
Smith	Smithová	An English surname with the ending applied

How the ending is applied

The Lithuanian page also discusses a surname ending, but the logic differs: there the ending signals marital status, here only sex. In Slovak, married and unmarried women take the same ending.

The birth surname is a separate field

Slovak documents carry the birth surname (rodné priezvisko) in a field of its own alongside the current surname. For someone whose surname changed on marriage, that field shows the surname at birth and never changes. Turkish records have no such field; a woman's maiden name is held in the register but does not always appear on a document.

Name fields on a Slovak document
Field	Example	What it shows
Meno	Zuzana	Given name
Priezvisko	Kováčová	Current surname
Rodné priezvisko	Nováková	Surname at birth
Rodné číslo	—	Birth number; encodes the date

Name fields on a Slovak document

The field is in fact an advantage: the document itself establishes the link between a birth certificate and a post-marriage document. The translation shows both surnames and marks which is which; for a Turkish institution that is the evidence of a name change.

Slovak and Czech

Slovak and Czech are mutually intelligible; their speakers understand one another without an interpreter. They are nonetheless separate official languages, and a sworn translation requires an oath record for the language concerned. There are also differences in spelling and alphabet.

Spelling differences between the two
Letter	Slovak	Czech
ľ	Present (ľud)	Absent
ĺ	Present (dĺžka)	Absent
ŕ	Present (vŕba)	Absent
ô	Present (stôl)	Absent
ě	Absent	Present (děti)
ř	Absent	Present (řeka)

Spelling differences between the two

That table is the quickest way to tell which language you are looking at: ř on a document means Czech, ľ means Slovak. Tell us which country your document comes from and we will route it to the right translator.

the ending on women's surnames: -ováthe ending on women's surnames
the year registration without it became possible: 2021the year registration without it became possible
current surname and birth surname: 2 fieldscurrent surname and birth surname

Slovak documents and how we render them

Frequently seen documents
Document	What it is	Our approach
Rodný list	Birth certificate	The birth surname field is shown separately
Sobášny list	Marriage certificate	Shows the surname chosen after marriage
Výpis z registra trestov	Extract from the criminal record	Its validity is limited in time
Vysvedčenie	School report or leaving certificate	A separate document from the diploma
Potvrdenie o trvalom pobyte	Certificate of permanent residence	Distinct from temporary residence

Frequently seen documents

Frequently asked questions

My Slovak document says Yılmazová and my Turkish ID says Yılmaz. What should I do?

That is the grammar of Slovak and the document is correct. The translation states explicitly that the ending marks sex and that the root surname is Yılmaz. Send your Turkish ID too; we set out the relationship in a note so the institution can match the two.

Can a translator who knows Czech handle my Slovak document?

Not for an official procedure. However mutually intelligible the languages, a sworn translation requires a Slovak oath record. The alphabets also differ: ľ, ĺ, ŕ and ô do not exist in Czech.

My document has two surname fields. Which one applies?

The current surname (priezvisko) is the one used in official procedures; the birth surname (rodné priezvisko) is historical information. We show both in the translation, because the second field is what links the document to your birth certificate.

Is an apostille enough for a document going to Slovakia?

Yes. Slovakia is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so sworn translation, notarisation and an apostille are valid; consular legalisation is not required.