Hembrom or Hembram: Which Spelling Goes on Your Documents
This is the most asked surname question in Jharkhand, and the usual answer is wrong. People are told one spelling is correct and the other is a mistake. It is not. Hembrom and Hembram are two ways of writing the same Santal clan name, and both sit on properly issued Government documents across the state. So the real question is not which spelling is right. It is which one you should keep, and that is decided by your own papers, not by opinion. This page gives you the four tests that settle it, in the right order, and tells you what to do about every document that already carries the other one.
Neither spelling is the wrong one. Hembrom and Hembram are the same Santal clan name written two ways, and even a general encyclopedia entry on the surname opens by noting it is also spelled as Hembrom and describes it as an exogamous clan, or paris, of the Santal. The difference is not a mistake by your family or by a clerk. It is what happens when a name from a language with its own script is written into Hindi and then into English by different people in different decades, and Santali is a scheduled language in its own right, added to the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution along with Bodo, Dogri and Maithili by the Ninety-second Amendment, which came into force on 7 January 2004 and took the list from 18 languages to 22. So stop asking which is correct and ask the question that actually decides your paperwork: which spelling should you keep? Four things answer it, in this order. What does your Class 10 certificate say, because that is the record every office compares the others against. What do most of your documents say, because fewer corrections means less money and less time. What does your father's or mother's document say, because a recruitment panel tests the two against each other. And is anything pending right now, such as a verification or an admission, because that can force your hand. Decide once, write it down, and then never change your mind, because the expensive version of this problem is a family that changed its answer twice.
Hembrom and Hembram Are One Santal Clan Name Written Two Ways
Before any paperwork, get this settled in your own mind, because it changes how you write every application that follows. You are not correcting a mistake. You are choosing between two correct spellings of one name.
| The reason | What it means for your papers |
|---|---|
| The name is Santali, not Hindi or English | It was written into Hindi and then into English by clerks writing what they heard. Two reasonable people heard the last part of the name and wrote it differently |
| Santali is a scheduled language in its own right | It was added to the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution along with Bodo, Dogri and Maithili by the Ninety-second Amendment, in force 7 January 2004, taking the list from 18 languages to 22. A Santali name is not an irregular version of a Hindi name |
| Different decades, different offices | A birth record, a school admission form and a caste certificate were written by three different hands, often years apart. That is how one family ends up holding both spellings |
| Nobody was ever asked to be consistent | No office in the chain checked the spelling against the previous record. The inconsistency was created by the system, not by your family |
Where this actually bites is at a Scheduled Tribe verification, and that is worth reading before you decide anything, because a vigilance check reads your school record and examines your parents. We set it out on our tribal surname mismatch in an ST certificate page. The wider position across all the Jharkhand surname pairs is on tribal surname spelling correction.
Four Tests That Decide Whether You Keep Hembrom or Hembram
Run these in order. The first one usually answers it on its own, and the rest are there for the cases where it does not. Do this on paper, with every document in front of you, in one sitting.
Test One: What Does the Class 10 Certificate Say
This is the strongest test and in most families it ends the discussion. Your Class 10 certificate is the oldest formal record of your name that institutions accept, and boards, recruitment panels, colleges and verification counters compare everything else against it. Whatever spelling it carries is the spelling that costs you the least to keep.
Test Two: Which Spelling Is on Most of Your Documents
Count them. Birth record, admission form, caste or Scheduled Tribe certificate, residence certificate, Aadhaar, PAN, voter card, bank passbook, driving licence. Every document that already agrees with your chosen spelling is one you never have to touch. Every one that disagrees is an application, a wait and usually a charge.
| Document | How much weight it carries |
|---|---|
| Class 10 certificate | The heaviest of all. Treat it as the anchor unless you have a strong reason not to |
| School admission register and admission form | Very heavy, because it is older than the certificate and it is what a vigilance officer reads |
| Caste or Scheduled Tribe certificate | Heavy in practice, because so much depends on it, but it was written from what you produced at the time, so it follows the school record |
| Birth record | Heavy where it exists and carries a name, because it sits at the very start of the chain |
| Aadhaar and PAN | Light. They are matched against the school record, so they follow, they never lead |
| Bank, voter card, driving licence | Light, and usually the easiest of all to bring into line once the rest is settled |
Test Three: What Does Your Father's or Mother's Document Say
This is the test people skip, and it is the one that causes rejections. A recruitment panel does not only check your papers against each other. It checks your father's name on your certificate against his own documents. If he is Hembrom and your certificate says your father is Hembram, that is a mismatch on your file even when all of your own papers agree.
Test Four: Is Anything Pending Right Now
A recruitment verification, an admission, a passport application or a scrutiny that has already started can force your hand, because you no longer control the calendar. In that situation the right answer is often to keep whatever spelling the pending process is already working from, settle the rest afterwards, and not open a correction in the middle of it.
The Order to Settle the Hembrom and Hembram Spelling in Jharkhand
The first four steps cost nothing at all and they decide whether you ever pay for anything.
Put every document on one table
Yours and your parents'. Birth record, admission form, Class 10 certificate, caste certificate, Aadhaar, PAN, voter card, bank papers.
Write each spelling in a list
One line per document, letter by letter. Most families discover the real pattern only when they see it written out like this.
Run the four tests and decide
Class 10 first, then the count, then the parents, then anything pending. Decide once and write the decision down.
Ask whether that spelling is already on a document
It almost always is, and that means correction rather than change of name, which is far cheaper. If it is on nothing, the route is different.
Get an attested copy of the school admission register page
Ask for it in writing. This is the paper a vigilance officer reads, so read it before anybody else does.
Correct the heaviest records first
School record, then the caste or Scheduled Tribe certificate, then the birth record. Work from the oldest outwards.
Bring the parents' records into line at the same time
Not afterwards. A panel checks your father's name against his own documents, so the two have to move together.
Update the Aadhaar, PAN and the rest last
Always last. They follow the school record, and correcting them first creates the mismatch you were removing.
Keep one folder for the whole family
Every corrected record, every application with its received stamp, the written decision. This is what answers a question in twenty years.
What to Do With Documents That Carry the Other Spelling
Once you have decided, every document falls into one of four buckets. Sort them that way and the work becomes a short list instead of a worry.
| The document | What to do |
|---|---|
| Already carries your chosen spelling | Leave it alone. It is now your proof, and a self attested copy of it goes with every application you make for the others |
| School record or Class 10 certificate with the other spelling | Corrected through the school, against the admission register, in writing to the head of the institution. This is the heaviest one, so do it first and keep an attested copy of the corrected page |
| Caste or Scheduled Tribe certificate with the other spelling | Corrected at its own issuing office, against the school record, with a self attested copy of the document carrying the chosen spelling attached |
| Birth record with the other spelling | A registrar correction, not a gazette. A gazette never rewrites the birth register, and for an adult the realistic outcome is an annotation, which you should ask for by name |
| Aadhaar, PAN, voter card, bank, driving licence | Updated last of all, each at its own office, once the heavier records agree. These are the easy ones and there is no reason to rush them |
| A document you will never use again | Leave it. There is no prize for correcting a lapsed paper nobody will ever ask you for |
Central Gazette Process for a Surname Spelling From Jharkhand, Where a Correction Cannot Do It
No district in Jharkhand has a gazette counter, so the file goes from Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Hazaribagh, Deoghar or anywhere else in the state to the Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054, and the notice publishes in Part IV of the Gazette of India. As reported in July 2025 the Finance Department stopped personal name change notifications from the Jharkhand Government Press with immediate effect, so there is no state alternative to fall back on.
The Eight Steps of a Surname Spelling File Sent From Jharkhand
Settle the final name first
Write it out letter by letter, with the spacing you want, and then use exactly that in every paper. A corrigendum after publication is a second fee and a second wait.
Pick the category, then its proforma
For a surname spelling this is almost always the public notice for a wrongly written name, not a change of name, because you are not taking a new name. Twelve categories exist and only one is yours, and picking the wrong one is how files come back.
Type the proforma in duplicate
Two originals, signed in the old spelling, with two witnesses giving signature, full name, address and mobile number on both copies. On a wrongly written name the wrong spelling has to be quoted exactly as it is printed on each certificate named.
Get the affidavit attested at the right level
A notary for the ordinary change of name, and a First Class Magistrate of the concerned area where the different surname guidelines apply. This is the step that catches people out.
Publish and keep the original paper
One of the daily local leading newspapers, carrying both spellings in full, the father's name and the address. The whole original paper goes in the file, not a cutting.
Pay only through BharatKosh
The Non Tax Receipt Portal and nowhere else since October 2018. Select the Department of Publication by name, read the amount the portal shows on the day, pay in your own name and print the e-receipt.
Check every date, then post it yourself
Nothing in the file older than one year. Personally or by post or courier only, never through an agent or advocate. Photocopy everything first, because nothing sent in comes back.
Read the notice, then download it
Check both spellings letter by letter the day it publishes, note the page and issue number, and download the e-Gazette copy of that Part IV issue.
The Five Papers in the File, and What Is Checked in Each
| The paper | What is checked in it, clause by clause |
|---|---|
| 1. The proforma, in duplicate | That it is the right category's format; the existing full name exactly as your documents carry it, surname included; the child's new full name exactly as you settled it; the father's or husband's name; the full address with pin code; the signature in the old name; two witnesses complete with signature, full name, address and mobile number |
| 2. The affidavit or undertaking | Signed by the parent applying; the same names and address as the proforma, word for word; attested at the level the category asks for, which is a First Class Magistrate for the adopting a different surname route; on Rs 100 non-judicial stamp paper as our safe default |
| 3. The original newspaper | The original paper, not a cutting; the paper's name and date of publication visible; both of the child's names carried; the same spelling as the proforma; dated within the last year |
| 4. Photographs, identity proof and any category paper | Two self attested passport photographs of each applicant and the child, which the minor guidelines ask for specifically; identity and address proof matching the proforma address; both witnesses' proofs; and whatever the category itself demands, such as a decree or a no objection certificate where the maiden surname requirement applies |
| 5. The CD, its certificate and the BharatKosh receipt | MS Word, without the witness portion, with the name of the Guardian typed in place of the signature, which is where a minor file differs from an adult one; the certificate that the hard copy and the soft copy are the same; the forwarding letter to the Controller of Publication with a telephone number and email; the e-receipt |
The posting detail is on the sending the file to Delhi page, the wording on the proforma format page, the charge by category on the fee and undertaking page, the reasons files come back on the rejection reasons page, and the download on the download page.
What Settling the Hembrom and Hembram Spelling Costs in Jharkhand
| Item | Cost | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Where your chosen spelling is already on a document, which is nearly always | The issuing office's own charges per record corrected, plus Rs 10 for an RTI application if a school register page has to be obtained that way. No gazette charge at all | A few weeks per office, and they can be run in parallel |
| One and the same person affidavit | Rs 100 non-judicial stamp paper and the notary. Accepted by banks, employers and colleges. Usually refused by boards, passport counters and recruitment panels | The same day |
| Government printing charge | The minor guidelines print Rs 1,700 for a change of name of a minor with effect from 01.04.2016 to 31.03.2017. For comparison the adult guidelines print Rs 1,100 for the same year, and Rs 3,500 for an Indian living abroad. Every category's guidelines add that the charge varies each financial year and from case to case, so treat these as the order of the amount. What BharatKosh shows on the payment screen the day you pay is the figure that counts | Part IV publishes weekly, so allow several weeks from posting |
| Affidavit | Rs 100 non-judicial stamp paper plus the attestation. A notary is enough for an ordinary public notice. A First Class Magistrate is only for the adopting a different surname route | Notary the same day; a magistrate needs a planned court visit |
| Newspaper | Paid to the paper, charged by length | Same week |
| Post or courier to Delhi | Sent in your own name from any district, and keep the receipt | A few days each way |
| Updating the records afterwards | Aadhaar charges a fee per attempt with no refund, and the other offices have their own small charges | Several weeks across all of them |
| Our charge | Quoted on your papers before you pay anything, and confirmed in writing. We print no service price on any page of this site | |
The honest total for a Hembrom and Hembram question is usually small, because one of the two spellings is always already on a paper you hold. What makes it expensive is never the Government. It is a family that decided twice, or that corrected one person and left the others, and then paid for the same work again. Decide once, move the whole family together, and this stays cheap. Our corrigendum page covers a second file, and name change cost the line items in full.
Myths About the Hembrom and Hembram Spelling
| What people are told | What is actually so |
|---|---|
| One of the two is the real spelling and the other is a mistake | Both are spellings of one Santal clan name. Even a general encyclopedia entry for the surname notes it is also spelled as Hembrom. Neither your family nor any clerk did anything wrong |
| Pick whichever spelling you prefer | Preference is the worst way to choose. Pick the one that costs the least, which means the one on your Class 10 certificate and on most of your papers already |
| A gazette is needed to settle it | Almost never here, because one of the two spellings is always already on a document you hold. That makes it a correction at the issuing office, not a change of name |
| Fix your own documents and you are done | Not done. A panel checks your father's name on your certificate against his own documents. Move the family together or you have only moved the problem |
| Start with the Aadhaar because it is quickest | The wrong end. Aadhaar and PAN are matched against the school record, so they follow, they never lead. Heaviest record first, lightest last |
| A gazette will correct the birth record too | It will not. A birth register is corrected by the registrar, and for an adult the realistic outcome is an annotation, which you should ask for by name |
| The caste certificate spelling should win because it matters most | It matters most, which is exactly why it must agree with the older school record that a vigilance officer reads. Importance does not make a record the anchor |
| You can change your mind later if an office suggests otherwise | You can, and it is the most expensive thing on this page. Every correction is an application, a wait and usually a charge. Decide once and move once |
Key Terms in a Santal Surname Spelling Decision
| Term | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Paris | A Santal clan. Hembram, also spelt Hembrom, is described as an exogamous clan of the Santal, which is why both spellings point at one name |
| Transliteration | Writing a name from one script into another by sound. The reason one Santali name reached paper as two English spellings |
| Eighth Schedule | The Constitution's list of languages. Santali was added with Bodo, Dogri and Maithili by the Ninety-second Amendment, in force 7 January 2004, taking the list to 22 |
| Anchor record | The document everything else is judged against. In practice the Class 10 certificate, which is why test one usually ends the decision |
| Admission register | The school's own record of every student's name on admission. Older than the certificate and read during a Scheduled Tribe verification |
| Correction | Putting a record right against a document you already hold. Cheaper, faster, and it publishes nothing. This is nearly always the right word here |
| Change of name | Taking a name that no record carries. Rarely what a Hembrom and Hembram question actually is, whatever you are quoted for |
| One and the same person affidavit | Your statement that both spellings are you. Works with banks, employers and colleges. Usually refused by boards, passport counters and recruitment panels |
| Annotation | What a birth register realistically gets for an adult, rather than a rewritten entry. Ask for it by that name at the registrar |
| Issuing office | Whoever issued the record with the other spelling. That is where its correction is asked for, in writing, with proof attached |
| Attested copy | A copy signed by the office as a true copy. Ask for one of every corrected record, in the same letter that asks for the correction |
| Received stamp | The office's acknowledgement on your own copy. Without it, an application never happened |
Santal Surname Spelling Help Across Jharkhand
The school, the issuing office and the block are in your own district. Reading every document, deciding which spelling the family keeps, drafting the applications and telling you whether a gazette is needed at all are done on your scans over WhatsApp, for every district in the state.
District pages are linked from the services page.
Send your papers for a spelling check
Photograph every document that carries the surname, yours and your parents': Class 10 certificate, caste or Scheduled Tribe certificate, school admission form if your family kept a copy, birth record, Aadhaar and PAN. Tell us whether anything is pending, such as a recruitment verification or an admission. The first reply tells you which spelling to keep and why, which records have to be corrected and in what order, whether the whole family should move together, and whether a gazette is needed at all. For a Hembrom and Hembram question the honest answer is almost always that it is not. Details on the contact page.
- 📞Call 9540005002
Monday to Saturday, 9 AM to 6 PM - WhatsApp 9540005064
Send your scans here, it is the fastest way - ✉️info@jharkhandnamechange.com
- 📍Ranchi office: Main Building, Near Shaheed Chowk, Ranchi, Jharkhand 834001
- 🏛️Head office (Gazette filing desk): Metro Pillar No. 377, Near Burari Metro Station, Shop No. B-1, Ground Floor, Gali No. 1, Khasra No. 31/12, Hardev Nagar, Jharoda Majra, Burari, Delhi 110084
Hembrom or Hembram: Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the correct spelling, Hembrom or Hembram?
So how do I decide which one to keep?
Do I need a gazette to fix this?
Why does my family have both spellings at all?
My Class 10 certificate has the spelling I dislike. Should I change it?
In what order should I correct the records?
My brothers and sisters are spelt differently from me.
What about my father's documents?
Will an affidavit saying both names are me be enough?
Does this affect my Scheduled Tribe certificate?
What should I write in the application to each office?
What does it cost?
Sources on the Santal Surname and the Records It Sits On
- Hembram, surname and Santal clanThe encyclopedia entry noting the surname is also spelled Hembrom and describing it as an exogamous clan, or paris, of the Santal. An encyclopedia entry, not a Government record.
- Ninety-second Amendment of the Constitution of IndiaSantali added to the Eighth Schedule with Bodo, Dogri and Maithili, in force 7 January 2004, taking the list from 18 languages to 22.
- Kumari Madhuri Patil against Additional Commissioner, Tribal Development, 2 September 1994The Supreme Court directions on the Scrutiny Committee and the Vigilance Cell, and what the vigilance officer examines, including school records.
- Jharkhand Academic CouncilThe board that holds and corrects the school record your surname will be judged against.
- JharSewa, the Jharkhand Government service portalWhere a caste, residence or income certificate is applied for and verified in Jharkhand.
- Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969The Act the registrar works under, including the sections on adding and correcting a name in the register.
- UIDAI list of supporting documentsWhat Aadhaar accepts for a name update, which is done after the heavier records agree.
- Department of Publication, guidelines for change of nameThe twelve categories, for the rare case where a published notice is genuinely asked for.
Hembrom or Hembram in Eight Lines
The short version
- Both are spellings of one Santal clan name. Neither is wrong.
- An office compares two papers, it does not judge your name.
- Let the Class 10 certificate decide, because it is hardest to change.
- Then count which spelling most of your documents already carry.
- Check your father's documents, because a panel checks them too.
- School record first, certificates next, Aadhaar and PAN last.
- One spelling is always already on a paper, so this is a correction.
- Decide once, move the whole family together, and it stays cheap.
Send us every paper with the surname on it and we will tell you which spelling to keep.
Yours and your parents'. Class 10 certificate, ST certificate, school admission form, birth record, Aadhaar and PAN. We will name the route, the order and the total before you pay anything.