Hungarian Names - Orthography

Orthography

Modern Hungarian orthography is slightly simpler than that of the 18th and 19th centuries, but many Hungarians still use the older spelling for their names. For example, the letter 'c' is often written as 'cz'. Letters such as Q, W, X, or Y, which are usually only ever seen in foreign words, can also be seen in these older spellings of names, especially in old noble family names which stem from the Middle Ages. Some family names refer to a place of origin, and may be written ending in "Y" instead of "I". So someone from Szolnok may spell his family name "Szolnoky" instead of "Szolnoki", but only if the chosen Y variant of the family name is not a protected name of a historically documented noble family. Unless acknowledged officially, such spelling variants cannot be used as legal names. Except in special cases, to change one's name to any historical or old-style written name is not and will not be permitted.