Foreign names create a genuine choice in Esperanto. You may use a well-established fully Esperanto form, a partially adapted form, or an original Latin-alphabet spelling. No single method is best in every context: pronunciation, recognizability, grammatical convenience, the name bearer’s preference, and established tradition can point in different directions.
That flexibility does not abolish Esperanto spelling. A fully adapted name uses Esperanto’s 28 letters—including ĉ, ĝ, ĥ, ĵ, ŝ, ŭ—with their regular sounds and normally takes the noun ending -o. An unadapted name is instead a quoted foreign element inside an Esperanto sentence; its letters are not suddenly assigned Esperanto values. Keeping those two statuses clear is more useful than forcing every name into one mold.
For the broader grammar of name phrases rather than their spelling, see proper names. This page concentrates on the orthographic choice made when a foreign name enters Esperanto text.
Three workable treatments
The Academy of Esperanto describes three systems that are all found in actual use.
| Treatment | Typical form | Main advantage | Main cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full adaptation | Ŝekspiro, Nov-Jorko | Regular pronunciation and grammar | The original may be less immediately recognizable |
| Partial adaptation | Zamenhof, Ban Ki-mun | More pronounceable while retaining identity | Stress or grammatical form may remain exceptional |
| Original spelling or standard romanization | Shakespeare, Kálmán Kalocsay | Easy documentary recognition | Pronunciation and inflection may be unclear |
Ŝekspiro verkis tragediojn kaj komediojn.
Shakespeare wrote tragedies and comedies. (fully adapted name)
Shakespeare verkis tragediojn kaj komediojn.
Shakespeare wrote tragedies and comedies. (original spelling retained)
These sentences have the same reference. The contrast is orthographic and practical: Ŝekspiro tells every Esperanto reader how to pronounce and inflect the name; Shakespeare maximizes recognition for readers familiar with the English spelling.
Fully adapted names
A fully adapted name behaves like an Esperanto noun. It uses only Esperanto sounds and letters, normally ends in -o, receives -n as a direct object, and can support transparent derivatives. Stress follows the regular penultimate-vowel rule.
Mi vizitis Londonon dum la printempo.
I visited London during the spring.
Ĉu vi iam legis Ŝekspiron en Esperanto?
Have you ever read Shakespeare in Esperanto?
La ŝekspira dramo ankoraŭ emocias la publikon.
The Shakespearean drama still moves the audience.
Full adaptation is especially established for countries, continents, major geographical features, widely known cities, historical figures, and names that recur throughout a text. Forms such as Afriko, Londono, Pekino, Konfuceo, and Ŝekspiro belong to linguistic tradition; they are not produced by a mechanical rule each time someone writes.
Do not merely copy a foreign spelling and append -o. A good adaptation balances pronunciation, written recognizability, established forms, and pronounceable Esperanto sound patterns. Some names are based partly on sound, some on spelling, and some on transparent meaning: Nigra Maro is a semantic translation. This is why a dictionary or respected Esperanto reference is more reliable than improvisation.
La konferenco okazos en Nov-Jorko, ne en Vaŝingtono.
The conference will take place in New York, not in Washington.
Partial adaptation and original spelling
A partially adapted name uses Esperanto letters and their regular pronunciations but lacks some property of a fully regular Esperanto noun—most visibly the final -o, and sometimes regular stress. Zamenhof is the central traditional example. Such a form is not an apostrophized noun: modern Academy guidance explicitly treats Zamenhof as partially adapted, not as Zamenhof’ with a silently omitted ending.
Zamenhof naskiĝis en Bjalistoko.
Zamenhof was born in Białystok.
An original Latin-alphabet spelling may contain letters absent from Esperanto, such as q, w, x, or y, and other languages’ diacritics. Those letters are allowed inside the foreign name. They do not enter the Esperanto alphabet, and the name’s original capitalization should normally be respected.
Ordinary Esperanto capitalization around those forms follows the principles in capitalization in titles and names; preserving McCartney or van Gogh is a matter of preserving the name, not copying English title case into the surrounding sentence.
Mi ricevis retmesaĝon de William Zhang hieraŭ.
I received an email from William Zhang yesterday.
La artikolo unue mencias Kálmán Kalocsay kaj poste klarigas la prononcon.
The article first mentions Kálmán Kalocsay and then explains the pronunciation.
For a less familiar unadapted name, give a pronunciation guide at its first occurrence when pronunciation matters. Academy guidance recommends a guide based principally on Esperanto letters, with stress explicitly marked if necessary. In an international audience, that is more equitable than assuming everyone knows English spelling conventions.
La preleganto nomiĝas Hugh Fraser [hju frejzer].
The lecturer is named Hugh Fraser [approximate pronunciation in Esperanto letters].
The guide is approximate because Esperanto’s sound inventory may not reproduce every foreign distinction. That limitation should be acknowledged rather than hidden behind an invented “exact” adaptation.
Case marking with names
Fully adapted names take endings normally: Londono → Londonon, Ŝekspiro → Ŝekspiron. An unadapted name ending in a vowel can sometimes receive -n directly: Anna → Annan. With a consonant-final name, writers may attach -on, often with a hyphen, but the visual result can be cumbersome. It is frequently clearer to add a title or generic noun that carries the case ending, or to use word order where omission of -n does not create ambiguity.
Mi renkontis Annan post la kunveno.
I met Anna after the meeting.
Mi renkontis sinjoron Smith post la kunveno.
I met Mr. Smith after the meeting.
Hieraŭ mi finfine renkontis Smith.
Yesterday I finally met Smith. (unmarked original name; the word order makes the role clear)
This is accepted variation, not a reason to neglect the accusative everywhere. If omission would make the sentence hard to parse, restructure it. Full adaptation is particularly useful in long narratives because ordinary Esperanto endings keep roles visible even when word order changes.
Choosing consistently in a text
Use an established Esperanto form when one is well known, especially for major places and historical figures. Preserve a person’s stated Esperanto name when they have chosen one. For a new or unfamiliar adaptation, give the original form at first mention: Mejlino (Mei Lin). If exact legal, bibliographic, or searchable identity matters, retain the documented spelling, perhaps with a pronunciation guide.
(journalistic/academic) writing often gives both forms at first mention and then chooses one consistently. (literary) translation may adapt recurring character names to make narration and derivation fluid. (informal) correspondence normally respects whatever form the person uses. Geographical and personal traditions vary, but Esperanto does not have national dialect authorities that automatically decide every name.
En la unua alineo ni skribos “Mejlino (Mei Lin)”; poste ni uzos nur “Mejlino”.
In the first paragraph we will write ‘Mejlino (Mei Lin)’; afterward we will use only ‘Mejlino.’
Common Mistakes
1. Adding -o mechanically to an English spelling. This can retain impossible or opaque letter–sound relations.
❌ La romano estis verkita de Shakespeare-o.
Poor adaptation — an English spelling plus -o is neither a clean original form nor an established Esperanto form.
✅ La romano estis verkita de Shakespeare, aŭ laŭ la Esperanta formo, de Ŝekspiro.
The novel was written by Shakespeare—or, using the Esperanto form, by Ŝekspiro.
2. Dropping a required Esperanto diacritic from an adapted form. Ŝ is a separate letter; plain S does not represent the same sound.
❌ Mi studas la dramojn de Sekspiro.
Incorrect — this misspells the established adapted name by replacing ŝ with s.
✅ Mi studas la dramojn de Ŝekspiro.
I study Shakespeare’s plays.
3. Treating x-system input as the published name. A typing code must be converted before ordinary Unicode prose.
❌ La aŭtoro estas Sxekspiro.
Incorrect in finished prose — Sx is an x-system input sequence, not the letter Ŝ.
✅ La aŭtoro estas Ŝekspiro.
The author is Shakespeare.
4. Assuming every foreign name must be adapted. Original spelling is a legitimate choice when recognition is the priority.
❌ Ĉiu fremda nomo nepre devas ricevi la finaĵon -o.
Incorrect claim — Esperanto usage permits full adaptation, partial adaptation, and original spelling.
✅ En la bibliografio ni konservas la originalan nomon Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
In the bibliography we retain the original name Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
5. Forgetting sentence grammar because the name is foreign. Mark the role on a nearby Esperanto noun when direct attachment would be awkward.
❌ Smith renkontis Taylor hieraŭ ĉe la stacidomo.
Unclear — with two unmarked original names, the sentence does not securely identify who met whom.
✅ Sinjoro Smith renkontis sinjoron Taylor hieraŭ ĉe la stacidomo.
Mr. Smith met Mr. Taylor yesterday at the station.
Key Takeaways
- Esperanto has three legitimate treatments: full adaptation, partial adaptation, and original spelling or romanization.
- Full adaptations use the 28-letter Esperanto system, normally take -o, follow regular stress, and accept endings freely.
- Original spellings remain foreign elements; preserve them when exact recognition matters and explain pronunciation when useful.
- Established forms outrank mechanical improvisation, and a person’s own chosen Esperanto form deserves respect.
- Pick the method that serves the context, introduce unfamiliar adaptations clearly, and remain consistent.
Related Topics
- The Esperanto AlphabetA1 — Learn Esperanto’s 28 letters, their names and order, and why the six diacritic letters count as letters in their own right.
- Capitalization in Titles and NamesA2 — Capitalize Esperanto titles and multiword names clearly without importing English title case or erasing accepted editorial variation.
- Spelling Assimilated LoanwordsB1 — Recognize and form assimilated international words that obey Esperanto’s alphabet, pronunciation, endings, and productive derivation.
- Proper NamesA2 — How Esperanto proper names behave as definite noun phrases, take case and number, and interact with articles and titles.
- Names, Titles, and Honorific NounsB1 — How personal names combine with regular Esperanto title nouns, articles, number, case, and direct address.