Last updated: 6 October 2026
Quick Answer: In the passport application form, Surname is your family name and Given Name is your first and middle names. Write both exactly as your documents show them, in capital letters, and expand every initial. If you use no surname, leave Surname blank and put your full name in Given Name.
Whatever you enter in the name columns is what gets printed. This guide covers the given name and surname in passport forms, field by field. Passport Seva prints your form's particulars straight into the booklet, and holds you responsible for any mistake you submit.
At a glance: the two name columns
| Field | What to write | Booklet's own example |
|---|---|---|
| Surname | Your family name, in capitals. May run to two words. | JAIN |
| Applicant's Given Name | First name plus any middle name, initials expanded | PIYUSH KUMAR |
| How it prints in the passport | Both fields appear separately | Surname: JAIN · Given Name: PIYUSH KUMAR |
What is a surname and a given name in a passport?
Your surname is your family name. Your given name is everything else you are called, meaning your first name and any middle name. The rule for both columns is the same: furnish your full name as you want it printed. The passport application instruction booklet from Passport Seva sets out each column, and the table above uses its example.
How do you fill the given name and surname in the passport form?
A new passport application is completed online through Passport Seva, then presented in person at a Passport Seva Kendra within your Passport Office's jurisdiction, where your documents are verified. Put your family name in Surname and everything else in Given Name, in capital letters, one character per box. Expand every initial, and leave one blank box after each complete word. The form is read by Intelligent Character Recognition scanners, so use a black or blue ball point and avoid stylised writing.
Two further rules apply to every name column:
- Never write "NA", "N/A" or "NOT APPLICABLE" to show a column does not apply to you. Leave it blank instead.
- Do not overwrite a mistake. Strike the character out and continue in the next box.
Can you use initials in a passport name?
No. The booklet states that no initials should be written, and that all initials in the applicant's name must be expanded. Using its own example, entering the given name as "P.K.JAIN" or "PIYUSH K JAIN" is wrong. It has to be PIYUSH KUMAR, with JAIN in the Surname column.
What if your name has three or more parts?
The middle name goes into the Given Name column, alongside your first name: PIYUSH KUMAR sits together there while only JAIN goes in Surname. Two related rules:
- A surname can itself be two words, and the booklet gives Roy Choudhary and Das Gupta.
- Honorifics and titles such as Major or Doctor are never written.
Jaagruk Bharat runs an assisted new passport application that fills these columns from your documents before your Passport Seva Kendra slot is booked. The passport authority alone decides the application.
What if you don't have a surname?
A passport without a surname is perfectly valid. Leave the Surname column blank and write your full name in the Applicant's Given Name column. The booklet says so directly, and the rule above applies: a column that does not apply to you is left empty, never "NA".
Weigh one thing first: the booklet warns that some Embassies, naming the UAE and European countries, insist on a surname before issuing a visa. An Embassy of India notice on splitting the given name and surname explains the knock-on effect. Where local immigration, taxation and civil registration authorities demand a clear distinction, applicants seek a re-issue purely to split a name entered as one block.
Can you add a surname if you have only one name?
You can, but nobody can make you. A single name passport stays valid either way. That notice calls the advice advisory, and says applicants are not compelled to alter their name or adopt a surname. On a fresh application you enter the name you actually use. Splitting a name already printed in a passport is a re-issue, not an edit.
Does the name have to match your Aadhaar, birth certificate and 10th marksheet?
It has to match the documents you submit. The booklet names no single document as the master copy of your name; it treats a difference between your passport and your documents as a case to resolve. A spelling discrepancy short of a total change of name is handled as a minor change-of-name application, with your old passport as support.
So the papers you attach matter as much as the form. Proof of date of birth can be a birth certificate from the Registrar of Births and Deaths, or a matriculation or school-leaving certificate. If the birth certificate carries no name for the child, the booklet wants a parents' declaration on plain paper. Our guide to the documents required for an Indian passport has the full list.
How do you fill the spouse name and parents' names?
Family details go in Column 3, and each name splits into Given Name and Surname exactly as your own does. The spouse name in passport applications is the one field the booklet pins to a specific document: if your spouse holds a passport, write the name in Column 3.4 as it is written in that passport.
Changing your own surname after marriage is a separate, change-of-name case. The booklet asks for your old passport plus either an attested marriage certificate from the Registrar of Marriage or a joint photo declaration signed by both spouses. Our passport name change and re-issue guide covers that route.
What if your passport was issued with the name in the wrong field?
Send the booklet back to the Regional Passport Office concerned and ask for rectification, not a fresh application. Passport Seva's application form FAQ addresses exactly this: a blank Surname field with your whole name in Given Name. If the competent authority clears the change, you receive a new booklet carrying a new passport number. Sometimes you are told to apply for re-issue instead, and what you pay turns on the merits. Starting fresh? See our guide to applying for a new passport online.
Already hold a passport and want these fields corrected on the way through? Jaagruk Bharat can prepare a passport renewal application from your documents before your appointment is booked.
