NameAPI News

Enhanced NameAPI Database

We've updated our NameAPI database to better handle names that include professions. We have added over 3300 professions from the cultures German, English, Norwegian, Danish, Spanish and French and now, the system can parse and match names more accurately. Additionally, it also recognizes plural forms of job titles.

This update is just the starting point as we plan to expand our database by including even more job titles in various languages. This will help us enhance our services and provide even better support for understanding and parsing names globally.

Bosnian names: Echoes of Diversity and Heritage

Bosnia and Herzegovina stands out in Europe for its remarkable diversity, being a country where three official languages (Bosnian, Serbian, and Croatian), two writing systems (the Latin and Cyrillic alphabet), and multiple religions, including Christianity and Islam, coexist within a society composed of three distinct ethnic groups.

Situated at the crossroads of numerous civilizations, Bosnian names often encompass Slavic, Turkish, Arabic, and Persian influences, showcasing the rich tapestry of the country's history and cultural exchanges.

Bosnian names consist of two fundamental components, a given name and a surname. Bosnian naming conventions emphasize both cultural heritage and individual identity, with given names often chosen to reflect familial lineage, religious affiliation, or personal significance, while surnames provide a connection to ancestral roots and regional identity.

Traditionally, given names used to mark a person’s ethnicity and religion - Bosniaks often may have a name with an Islamic or Turkish origin, while Croats and Serbs have names influenced by Christianity. Today, it has become more common to use non-denominational or globally inspired given names, reflecting the increasingly interconnected and diverse nature of contemporary society. Family names come before the personal name, a common convention across Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats.

Currently, our comprehensive database contains roughly 2700 given names and 10.200 family names, and the numbers continue to grow.

With the recent additions, our software can now analyze, match, and identify the gender of the following instances, as shown below:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like “Idmir Doglod”, where Idmir is the given name and Doglod is the family name, and “Dzana Peljto”, where Dzana is the given name and Peljto is the family name.
• The Name Genderizer can now identify names such as “Beguna Hrusto” (female) and “Zahrudin Cviko” (male).
• The Name Matcher can now identify a match between “Behro Merdan” and “Behrudin Merdan”, where Behro is the short form of Behrudin.

Larger Name Database

We are pleased to announce a new update to our database, which now features a broader range of names with their relations from many cultural backgrounds, spanning from Europe to Asia.

Our data researchers and native freelancers have added thousands of new given names, family names, hypocorisms, and other term types from 16 languages to our database, enhancing the quality of the Name Parser, Name Matcher, and the whole suite of NameAPI services.

Embark on a journey through the diverse landscape of names with us, as we continuously grow our dataset by collecting names from every corner of the globe.

Diving Deeper into Latin American Names

From the indigenous communities of the Andes to the Afro-Caribbean rhythms of the Caribbean coast, Latin America's mesmerizing diversity is rightfully celebrated worldwide. Latin America is estimated to have over 600 indigenous languages, along with Spanish and Portuguese as the main languages.

In 2023, our team has continued researching names, and Latin America was one of the main continents explored. Thousands of new given and family names from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, including those from Cuba, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil and Portugal were manually researched and imported.

Our name database now stores over 6000 given names and 2600 family names of Portuguese origin, over 10.000 given names of Spanish origin, and over 21.300 family names that are spread across all the Spanish-speaking countries. Directly collaborating with native speakers from these countries, we managed to ensure full accuracy, which we will continue to focus on in the future. Moreover, names from new and trustworthy online sources were explored and added (Wikidata), which further enriched our name database.

Thanks to the hard work of our research team, our software can now successfully parse, match and assess the gender of the following names:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Ángela de la Villalabos" and "Neder de Jesús Ferrerira".
• The Name Matcher can now compare names like "Abigail del Pilar Rodriguez De Mesa" with "Abigail Rodriguez".
• The Name Genderizer can identify the gender of names like "Sandra Del Pilar Paz y Miño" (female) and "Hermindo Peña Y Lillo" (male).

Swagger-UI: The New and Improved Way to Use Our REST API

We are happy to announce that we have added a new feature to our REST API: Swagger-UI, which allows you to interact with our API in a user-friendly and intuitive way.
You can find it here: https://api.nameapi.org/rest/swagger-ui/

What is Swagger and What's New?
Swagger is a powerful tool serving as a framework for documenting, testing, and visualizing APIs. With the implementation of Swagger-UI in our API, we bring significant improvements to our users' experience.

Interactive and Intuitive Documentation
One of the biggest challenges when using an API is understanding it and finding the right way to interact with it. With Swagger-UI, this task becomes much easier. Our users can access the complete documentation of our API directly in an interactive and intuitive web interface. Each endpoint, parameter, and response is detailed and clearly presented, facilitating navigation and understanding.

Efficient and Real-Time Testing
Another major advantage of implementing Swagger-UI is the ability to test our API in real-time, directly from the browser. Users can send requests to endpoints and see the responses immediately, without the need to install or use other testing tools. This allows for more efficient development and debugging, as errors can be identified and remedied quickly.

Continuous Updating
The documentation generated by Swagger-UI is automatically updated with any changes made to our API, ensuring that our users have access to the latest version.

To get started, simply get an API Key here, and you're ready to execute requests.

Software Version 10.2.0 Deployed

A software update has been installed on our servers which can handle more personal names and detect more disposable email addresses.

Functionalities in this version:

• Name Parser improvements for MULTIPLE people in the full name field.
• Name Parser improvements for names with professions in the full name field.
• Research and add functional email addresses (usernames) in different languages.
• And more.

Note: The endpoint remains the same: https://api.nameapi.org/rest/v5.3/

The NameAPI services can now parse and match a greater number of names thanks to our extensive Graph Name Database. This database is regularly updated and continuously enriched with new terms by our dedicated data research team and native collaborators.

New Year, More Names

We are delighted to share that we have just released an enhanced version of the DB with thousands of new names and relations (transcriptions, hypocorisms) from several European, Asian, and African cultures.

Our data research team together with collaborators from all around the world have enriched the DB with 18 languages, improving the quality not just for Name Parser or Name Matcher, but for the full suite of services.

Join us in discovering the world of names as we regularly add new ones and constantly upgrade our services.

2023 Around the World

2023 has been a busy year at our office for the data research team, as we have focused on 3 major projects:

• Collaborators: we enjoyed working with natives from Denmark, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, Greece, Cuba, Pakistan and Bulgaria who have provided and reviewed valuable name data corresponding to their culture.
• Wikidata: we extracted a huge library that provided us hundreds of thousands of names that allowed us to enhance even more our DB with given names and family names.
• Name Matcher: we created thousands of relations between numerous term types, such as transcriptions (Cyrillic, Greek, Sinhala, Urdu), translations, variants, gender opposite relations and many more.

The improvements from these projects are already noticeable in our webservices and they will continue in our future deployments.

Software Version 10.1.1 Deployed

The latest software update includes refinements in the points allocation for the Risk Detector, aiming to provide a more comprehensive evaluation.

Here are the 2 changes in the points calculations:

1. One notable improvement involves the assignment of negative points for each valid and non-risky field. In the previous version, a valid name like "Peter Meyer" would receive 0 points. However, in the new release, it now accumulates -0.24 points, reflecting the absence of detected risks.
2. Additionally, we have fine-tuned the assignment of positive points, ensuring a more precise evaluation. If all input fields are detected as risky, the total assigned points will now reach the value of 1, offering a more accurate representation of potential risks.

Try our Risk Detector Service now.

Slovene names: Unraveling a Fascinating Blend of Cultures

Did you know that Slovenian’s great variety of names reflects the country’s fascinating blend of cultures, such as Slavic, Germanic and Romance? Naming in Slovenia is guided by a combination of historical influences, family ties, and linguistic nuances. Names such as Mila or Aleksej echo their Slavic roots, while others like Franc or Marija mirror the Germanic influence.

Slovene names are made up of two essential parts, a given name and a surname. The naming process may also involve the addition of a second given name, which can be chosen for personal or familial reasons. Customary, given names used to be almost exclusively borrowed from the Christian almanac of saints, but today this practice is less common, with new international given names emerging annually, reflecting global influences and changing societal preferences.

Currently our enriched database comprises approximately 3800 given names and 5700 family names, and the numbers continue to grow.

With the recent additions, our software can now analyze, match, and identify the gender of the following instances, as shown below:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like “Ožbalt Tkalec”, where Ožbalt is the given name and Tkalec is the family name, and “Jožica Kuhar” where Jožica is the given name and Kuhar is the family name.
• The Name Genderizer can now identify names such as “Rijana Suhi” (female) and “Miklavž Jernejec” (male).
• The Name Matcher can now contrast “Jeta Glonar” and “Marjeta Glonar”, where Jeta is the short form of Marjeta.

Expanding Horizons: Introducing Fresh Additions to Our Name Database!

Collaborating diligently with natives worldwide, our research team has successfully integrated new names from multiple European, Asian, and African cultures.

Additionally, we have successfully imported around 16.000 relations between terms, a development that greatly enhances our suite of services. This enriches not only our Name Matcher and Name Parser but also ensures a more accurate experience across all our services.

Explore the world of names with us as we constantly introduce new additions and continuously enhance our services.

Introducing the Latest Version: Java Client Library 6.0.0

The new and noteworthy feature of the Java™ Client Library 6.0.0 is its migration to Java 17.
The client library grants seamless access to the NameAPI Web Services, is compatible with Java-based programming languages and offers a user-friendly programming interface. 
It stands as an open-source project, managed on GitHub.

For Maven projects, simply add the following lines to your pom.xml file:

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.nameapi.client</groupId>
  <artifactId>nameapi-client</artifactId>
  <version>6.0.0</version>
</dependency>

For Gradle projects, include this line in your build.gradle file:

implementation 'org.nameapi.client:nameapi-client:6.0.0'

By including this dependency, you can easily integrate the Java Client Library 6.0.0 into your project, enabling access to NameAPI Web Services.

Discover Our Name Parser Service

Efficiently and accurately analyze personal names, regardless of cultural or linguistic variations, using our advanced Name Parser webservice. While colonization and globalization have contributed to a more standardized approach to naming, there are still numerous cultural peculiarities that make this process challenging.

Our product efficiently processes millions of requests every day and has earned the trust of numerous financial companies and online stores through its proven track record of reliability and successful utilization.

Seamless Name Parsing Experience

Struggling to decipher foreign names presented in various formats? Our Name Parser service offers an ideal solution. The accuracy of name parsing depends on the ability to detect the cultural context from which the name originates. This cultural awareness enables us to parse names with precision.

Our team continuously grows our dataset by conducting thorough manual research and collecting names from every corner of the globe.

With every updated version, our Name Parser, powered by an expansive database, broadens its capability to parse a wider range of personal names and their associated attributes. It systematically breaks down full names into their individual components, encompassing given names, surnames, titles, and more.

Get Started Today!

Try our Name Parser Service now.

Bulgarian Names: Stories of Tradition and Identity

Did you know that within the Bulgarian culture, name days often hold greater significance and are celebrated more prominently than birthdays? This unique tradition highlights the profound link between personal names and religious practices in Bulgarian society.

Traditional Bulgarian surnames often had connections to a person's occupation or a characteristic. For example, the surname Kovachev, derived from the word "kovach", meaning "blacksmith", suggests a family history tied to the blacksmithing profession, or Radoslav, that could suggest a connection to individuals with joyful or cheerful dispositions.

Bulgarian names, composed of three fundamental parts - the given name, the patronymic (middle name), and the surname - formulate a distinct identity for each individual. The middle name, an integral part of this identity, finds its roots in the father's name, supplemented by an affix that distinguishes gender. For instance, if the father's name is Ivan, a son would bear the middle name Ivanov (indicating "son of Ivan"), while a daughter would possess the middle name Ivanova (signifying "daughter of Ivan").

Our comprehensive database encompasses nearly 10.000 distinct given names, and the list of approximately 4200 family names continues to grow.

With our recent updates, our software can now analyze, match, and identify the gender of the following instances, as shown below:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Velinov Spas", where Velinov is the surname and Spas the given name and "Stoyanka Mikhneva" - Stoyanka - given name and Mikhneva - family name.
• The Name Genderizer can recognize names like "Rositsa Pasheva" (female) and "Nedelcho Eftimov" (male).
• The Name Matcher can now compare "Ventislav Tenev" and "Ventsi Tenev", where Ventsi is the short form of Ventislav.

Extended Credit Validity Period

We are excited to announce a significant update to our credit system at NameAPI!

Effective immediately, the validity period for NameAPI credits has been increased, allowing you to use your credits for a longer duration.
This means you now have even more time to leverage the power of our comprehensive suite of web services without worrying about credit expiration.
Our web services offer a wealth of capabilities, including name parsing, gender identification, name matching and email parsing, to name just a few.

Thank you for choosing NameAPI!

Kazakh Names: Reflections of Identity and Belonging

Did you know that certain regions in Kazakhstan have unique naming traditions and preferences? For example, in the southern region, names influenced by Persian and Turkic origins are more common, while in the western region, names influenced by Russian culture can be found.

The process of selecting names for newborn children in Kazakh families is treated with utmost seriousness, as it is considered the most significant occasion following the birth of a child.

Kazakh names typically follow a specific structure consisting of a given name, a patronymic and a family name. The patronymic is created by adding a suffix to the father's name. For instance, if the father is named Abay, the son's patronymic would be Abayevich (for a son) or Abaykyzy (for a daughter).

Currently, our database comprises around 17.000 Kazakh given names and more than 98.000 family names.

Due to the recent additions made by our team, our software can now easily analyze, match, and determine the gender of the following instances, as shown below:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Rysaldy Urazov" and "Aizhamal Izmailova".
• The Name Genderizer can recognize names like "Ainash Dzhanaibayeva" (female) and "Zaiyr Yelenov" (male).
• The Name Matcher can now compare "Anargul Akhmetkali" and "Anara Akhmetkali".

Ethiopian Names Imported: Unveiling Rich Heritage

Did you know that Ethiopia boasts a diverse linguistic landscape with over 80 languages spoken throughout its regions? As of 2020, it officially recognizes five languages: Amharic, Oromo, Tigrinya, Somali, and Afar. Additionally, English serves as the predominant foreign language, being widely spoken and used as the primary language for teaching in university courses.

The Ethiopian name structure consists of a given name followed by a patronymic name, usually the father’s or grandfather's first name. For example, if the father's name is Alemayehu, the child's name will also include Alemayehu. The first name can be influenced by various factors, including cultural traditions, religious beliefs, personal preferences, or the circumstances surrounding the birth.

Overall, the structure of Ethiopian names encompasses the given name, representing the individual's unique identity, and the patronymic, emphasizing their familial connections and lineage.

Our database currently contains over 11.200 Ethiopian names.

The following are a few examples that our software can now easily parse, match and genderize, as a result of the additions made by our team:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Abebe Kebede" and "Betelihem Woinhareg".
• The Name Genderizer can recognize names like "Aida Lensa" (female) and "Tewodros Alemayehu" (male).
• The Name Matcher can now compare "Mamushat Tesfaye" and "Mamush Tesfaye".

Cultural Fusion of Cameroonian Names

Cameroon is a multilingual country in Central Africa, with over 200 different languages spoken. The languages belong to several language families, including Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, Afro-Asiatic, and Ubangian, while the official languages are English and French. Other very popular languages are Duala, Basaa, Fula, Ewondo or Pidgin Cameroonian.

Indigenous Cameroonian names vary across different ethnic groups and linguistic tradition, each ethnic group with its own set of names derived from their respective languages or dialects.

In some ethnic groups, prefixes or suffixes are added to personal names, giving them additional meaning or context and can indicate gender, social status, birth circumstances, or other characteristics. Also, many Cameroonian names consist of multiple elements, combining different words or syllables to form a complete name, such as the name Akongnwi (“God’s will”), where “Akon” means "will", and “gnwi” means "God" in Bafut culture.

Our research team enhanced the database with around 10.000 Cameroonian personal names and hypocorisms. At present, the database counts a total of more than 20.000 names with Cameroonian origins.

Here are some examples of Cameroonian names that NameAPI can successfully process:

• The Name Genderizer can recognize names like "Forbah Gwana Hamzah" (male) and "Verla Besing Fonsack" (female).
• The Name Matcher can now compare "Abate Mitang Ngenwo" with "Minko Gabila Ngenwo"

Software Version 10.0.2 Deployed

Bug-fix version that reverts an unintentional change in the RiskDetector service.

This version contains one fix:

• The type of riskType object unintentionally changed from String to Array.
  The latest major release contained multiple updates of libraries which caused an unintended alteration of behavior. Specifically, the fix resolves the issue related to the change of the riskType object in the Json result of the RiskDetector service.

New Java Client Library 5.4.2

The Java™ client library provides access to the NameAPI Web Services from Java compatible programming languages.

We provide this library to make your integration of the name api into your software as smooth as possible. This client hides the REST details and offers a nice programming API. It's open source and managed on GitHub.

Just include this in your Maven project:

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.nameapi.client</groupId>
  <artifactId>nameapi-client</artifactId>
  <version>5.4.2</version>
</dependency>

Or this for Gradle:

implementation 'org.nameapi.client:nameapi-client:5.4.2'

Somali Names Imported

Somalia, also known as the "Nation of Poets", is located at the easternmost edge of the African continent, or the "Horn of Africa". Its two official languages are Arabic and Somali. The Somali language is spoken by millions of people as a native language, both in Somalia and in neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. It has its own special writing system, called the Osmanya script, consisting of rounded shapes and curves.

Somali names follow a unique structure, combining a personal name, the father's personal name, and optionally, the paternal grandfather's personal name. Family names do not exist in Somali culture, but wealthy families might use surnames that are passed on to their children. To properly address a Somali person, all three names are used, although in everyday conversations, only the first and second names are commonly used.

The NameAPI graph database containing 1300 Somali names reviewed by a native Somali is a valuable and reliable resource for accurately identifying and understanding Somali names.

Our software can now interpret terms like those in the following examples:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Ismail Farah Abdi" and "Amina Hussein Jama".
• The Name Genderizer can recognize names like "Sahra Ali Hassan" (female) and "Abdiqani Ibrahim Warsame" (male).
• The Name Matcher can now compare "Abu Hussan Ali" and "Abdul Hussan".

Software Version 10.0.1 Deployed

Bug-fix version that reverts an unintentional change in the NameParser service.

This version contains one fix:

• NameParser Service is missing an object in the Json output
  This release focuses on resolving an issue that resulted in an unintended alteration of behavior. The fix specifically addresses the absence of the "bestMatch" object in the Json result of the NameParser service. The removal of this object was not intended and this version rectifies the issue, ensuring that the behavior aligns with the previous version (9.8.1).

Software Version 10.0.0 Deployed

• Update project to Java 17
  Updating a project from Java 8 to Java 17 involves migrating the source code of a Java application, along with any dependencies and build tools, to a newer version of the Java programming language. This typically involves making changes to the codebase to ensure compatibility with new language features and APIs, as well as updating any libraries or frameworks used in the project to their latest versions that are compatible with Java 17. The goal of this task is to take advantage of the improvements and new features introduced in Java 17 while ensuring that the application remains functional and stable.
• Fix exception in the RiskDetector affecting the Java client: PersonRiskDetectorCommand exception: com.optimaize.anythingworks.common.fault.exceptions.ClientServiceException: Failed unmarshalling JSON data from server to object: com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.JsonMappingException: Can not deserialize Class com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonTypeInfo
• Fix 'RestExceptionThrower' unexpected behavior
  Specifically, the HTTP status code returned is now the correct one: 403 'NotAuthorized' for the corresponding exception type instead of 400 "Bad Request".
• Handle new DisputeType
  A enum value DisputeType.DUPLICATE_USE was added when parsing personal names that contain a duplicate part, like: "Carmen Miller Miller".

Note: The endpoint remains the same:  https://api.nameapi.org/rest/v5.3/

New Java Client Library 5.4.1

The Java™ client library provides access to the NameAPI Web Services from Java compatible programming languages.

We provide this library to make your integration of the name api into your software as smooth as possible. This client hides the REST details and offers a nice programming API. It's open source and managed on GitHub.

Just include this in your Maven project:

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.nameapi.client</groupId>
  <artifactId>nameapi-client</artifactId>
  <version>5.4.1</version>
</dependency>

Or this for Gradle:

implementation 'org.nameapi.client:nameapi-client:5.4.1'

Spanish Names around the Globe

The Spanish language, the world’s most widely spoken Romance language, is part of the Indo-European language family and the official language in 20 countries, in Spain and the Hispanic America, including Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela and others. The largest population of native speakers can be found in Mexico, North America.

Names in Spanish culture are composed of one or more given name(s) (nombre) and two surnames (apellidos), one from the father and one from the mother. The father's surname comes first, followed by the mother's surname. This system is known as the "apellido materno" and is unique to Spanish-speaking cultures.

The research team has enriched the database of names with over 8.000 given names of Spanish origin and over 21.000 family names that are spread across all the Spanish-speaking countries around the world and which were reviewed by Spanish collaborators.

As a result, the software can now parse, match and assess the gender of the following names:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "María del Mar Azuela" and "Pérez Luisangel Dega".
• The Name Matcher can now compare names like "Prisciliana Velania Zedillo" with "Fidencio Juan Zedillo".
• The Name Genderizer can identify the gender of names like "Carla Rodriguez García" (female) and "Felipe García Rodriguez" (male).

Japanese Names Imported

Japanese belongs to the Japonic language family, including the Japanese-Ryukuan languages.

There are 3 writing systems in Japan: Kanji, the main script of the Japanese language that uses different characters, usually borrowed from Chinese; Hiragana, a syllabary commonly used in word particles; and Katakana, another syllabary, used for foreign words. The Latin script is called "Roomaji" in Japan.

In Japanese culture, the family name comes before the given name, but they may reverse it in some Western contexts to avoid confusion.

Our research team has been working on enriching our database, which currently contains more than 50.000 Japanese family names and more than 13.000 Japanese given names.

The NameAPI services can now interpret terms like those in the following examples:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Sakura Haruki" or "Takahashi Momoko".
• The Name Genderizer can recognize names like "Yumoto Nobuko" (female) and "Tatsumi Sato" (male).
• The Name Matcher can now compare "Nakasako Yuki" and "Nakasako Takayuki".

Large Dictionary of Given Names

The NameAPI database of manually researched names counts a total of around 220.000 female, 285.000 male and 70.000 gender-neutral given names from all the continents and languages of the globe. Each name is unique, manually researched and tagged with all the relevant information related to the cultures or languages where it is used in, as well as the gender, the term type, variants, hypocorisms and other attributes.

While it is true that many female given names typically end in "a", such as Sofia, Olivia, or Ava, there are several exceptions to this rule, including names like Mercedes or Jill. Furthermore, some names, such as Andrea, may be associated with one gender in one culture and with another gender in a different culture.

The key to identify the gender of a person is understanding the complete name, including its various parts and cultural origins. For some names, such as true unisex names or names that exist in multiple cultures with opposite genders, it can be challenging to assign a specific gender. In these cases, statistical analysis can be used to determine the likelihood of each gender.

The Name Genderizer software, which uses extensive databases of names, can be a valuable tool for individuals and organizations who need to analyze or sort large sets of data that includes people's names. This service is able to make the distinction between the male and female names and you can try it here.

Read more about feminine given names on the articles from our blog.

German Names Imported

German is a West Germanic language and it is the official language of many countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Lichtenstein. Many German surnames and given names contain name elements, recurring particles that can stand at the beginning, at the end, or even in the middle of a name. These particles have a specific meaning that can stand on their own. Some examples are stein, feld or burger.

Our research team has been working on enriching our database, which currently contains 127.000 German family names, more than 3.000 German given names and 700 name elements.

Our software can now interpret terms like those in the following examples:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Eckard Fischer" or "Wolke Neuen".
• The Name Genderizer can recognize names like "Marzella Marienfeld" (female) and "Janfried Springstein" (male).
• The Name Matcher can now compare "Wilhelmina Vorburger" and "Helma Vorburger".

More Research, Larger Name Database

The NameAPI database of manually reviewed names counts more than 590.000 given names from more than 400 cultures and languages from all around the world.

We managed to cover the whole European continent, gathering names from all the cultures and languages, most of them coming from the three largest Indo-European linguistic families: Germanic, Romance and Slavic, but also from non-Indo-European languages, such as Uralic and Turkic families.

The Asian continent is highly covered as well, with most names being from the Chinese culture, followed by Bengali, Kazakh and Arabic names.

In the past year we have also focused on adding new names from the African cultures, our software being now able to parse African names from 45 countries.

Therefore, our large dictionary of names can display names in more than 70 scripts and links the names with their corresponding transcriptions, their variants, hypocorisms or opposite gender forms.

Russian Names Imported

Russian is the most widely spoken Slavic language in the world, using the Cyrillic script. Russian names contain a given name, followed by a patronymic middle name (based on the father's given name) and a family name.

Russian given names are clearly split into male and female names. They can be distinguished by their ending, as male names typically end in consonants, or the vowels -i and -e, while female names end in -a or -ya, with a few exceptions for those of foreign origin.

Our research team has been working on enriching our database, which currently contains more than 30.000 Russian family names and more than 7500 Russian given names.

Our software can now interpret terms like those in the following examples:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Logvin Iosifovich Lipkov" or "Iolanta Avidovna Lipkova".
• The Name Genderizer can recognize names like "Vadik Valentinovich Khaustov" (male) and "Vladislava Gainulowna Kurasova" (female).
• The Name Matcher can now compare "Anatoly Ruslanovich Grigorov" with "Tolya Ruslanovich Grigorov".

Irish Names Imported

Irish is a Gaelic language, part of the Celtic language family and it is one of the official languages of the Republic of Ireland, alongside English, which has become more predominant in recent years. Surnames in Irish are usually patronymic, taking one of the following prefixes: Ó/Ua meaning "descendant", Mac meaning "son", or Ní/Nic, which means "daughter of a descendant of".

Our research team has been working on enriching our database, which currently contains more than 15.000 Irish family names and more than 3800 Irish given names.

Our software can now interpret terms like those in the following examples:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Sinéad MacFrederick" or "Iasan O'Kerry".
• The Name Genderizer can recognize names like "Noreen MacAlary" (female) and "Téodóir MacGraw" (male).
• The Name Matcher can now compare "Brígh Ní Néill" and "Bríghid Ní Néill".

Chinese Names Imported

Chinese language, named Standard Chinese or Standard Mandarin, is part of the Sino-Tibetan language family, altogether with Burmese, Tibetan and other languages encountered in the Himalayas and the Southeast Asian Massif.

Chinese name system is composed of a monosyllabic or single-symbol surname (xìng) followed by a disyllabic given name (míng). The Chinese surnames are rather repetitive, while the given names are incomparably richer in number and meaning. Chinese given names have two syllables or characters and can be any of the thousands of Chinese characters (logograms), therefore the combinations of names are nearly unlimited.

At present, our database counts a total of approximately 96.000 Chinese given names and surnames and more than 3300 Chinese syllables, reviewed by Chinese collaborators.

As a result of these improvements, the software can now parse and match the following names:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Soeng Hai-Dong" and "Tjon Pingping".
• The Name Matcher can now compare names like "Woei May-Ling" with "Woei Xuejing".

For more information about the Chinese names and their transcription into English, see our blog article.

New Java Client Library 5.4.0

The Java™ client library provides access to the NameAPI Web Services from Java compatible programming languages.

We provide this library to make your integration of the name api into your software as smooth as possible. This client hides the REST details and offers a nice programming API. It's open source and managed on GitHub.

Just include this in your Maven project:

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.nameapi.client</groupId>
  <artifactId>nameapi-client</artifactId>
  <version>5.4.0</version>
</dependency>

Or this for Gradle:

implementation 'org.nameapi.client:nameapi-client:5.4.0'

2022 Around the World

2022 has been a busy year at our office, as we had the pleasure of working with collaborators from Cameroon, Somalia, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Turkey, El Salvador, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Poland. Their work has consisted in reviewing and adding new terms, variant names and relations that correspond to their native languages.

We would like to thank all of our collaborators, some of whom have been already mentioned on our Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Vietnamese Names Imported

Vietnamese language is the most widely spoken of all Austroasiatic languages, with over 70 million native speakers. A very interesting fact is that Vietnamese names are dominated by 14 surnames that together account for over 90% of all surnames found in Vietnam.

The surname, along with a middle name and one or more given names build the Vietnamese naming system, using the Eastern name order.

Our research team has been working closely with collaborators from Vietnam, thus allowing the NameAPI database to reach a total number of 300 family names, 350 middle names and 4800 Vietnamese given names.

As a result of these improvements, the software can now parse and match the following names:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Lý Thúy Nga" and "Hoàng Thành Luân".
• The Name Matcher can now compare names like "Cù Công Tâm" with "Cù Công Tám".

New Java Client Library 5.3.0

The Java™ client library provides access to the NameAPI Web Services from Java compatible programming languages.
This library written in Java hides the REST details and offers a nice programming API. It's open source and managed on GitHub.

Just include this in your Maven project:

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.nameapi.client</groupId>
  <artifactId>nameapi-client</artifactId>
  <version>5.3.0</version>
</dependency>

Or this for Gradle:

implementation 'org.nameapi.client:nameapi-client:5.3.0'

A Year Dedicated to African Names

The African continent counts a total of 54 official countries. All countries have at least two or three official languages and each ethnic group has its own language and dialects.

Our research team had made a thorough job in researching most of the African cultures and their naming systems. As a result, the software can now parse and match African names from 45 countries.

African names have a generally free structure, there is no standard classification into given names and family names, as other naming systems. The African naming custom in the majority of countries is a combination between indigenous names and English, French and Arabic names.

More Persian Names

The Persian language, also known as Farsi, is part of the Indo-European language family and the most widely spoken of the Southwestern Iranian languages in the countries of Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Iraq.

Their naming system consists of personal name(s) and family name, which often derives from place names in Iran. Other common family names have suffixes such as -poor/-pur, -zadeh, -tabar, -nezhad/-nejad, which means “son of” or “descendant of”.

Our team of researchers successfully added approximately 2.000 new Persian given names and family names to the NameAPI database.

At present, our database of names counts more than 6.200 Persian given names and more than 6.300 Persian family names.

As an outcome of these additions, our software can now interpret the following names:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like “Alborz Bagherzadeh” and “Hojjat Khalatbari”.
• The Name Matcher can now compare names like “Malihe Rojin Asslani” with “Tohid Yunes Asslani”.

More Nepali Names Imported

Nepali names consist of a given name followed by a family name, which usually indicates the ethnicity or the caste of Nepalese people.

Currently, our database contains 780 Nepalese family names and 3100 Nepalese given names. Our data researchers have added 280 new terms written in the Devanagari script, which is the official Nepali script.

Our software can now interpret the following names:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Eshani Bishwakarma" and "Birendra Dhamala".
• The Name Genderizer can recognize names like "Dhriti Chaudhary" as female and "Sanjay Upadhyay" as male.
• The Name Matcher can now match names like "Sarla Tamang" with their transcription variants, which in this case will be "Sarala Tamang".

New DB Version

We are glad to announce that we have recently deployed an updated version of the DB featuring names from numerous cultures.

Our team of researchers and collaborators has enriched the DB with 19 languages, allowing the software to parse new names from various European, Asian and African cultures.

Filipino Names Imported

Alongside English, Filipino is the official language of the Philippines.

Even though Filipinos have various naming customs, the most common one is a blend of Anglo-American conventions and the older Spanish naming system. All systems have several middle names, but the combination of American and Spanish naming customs has resulted in multiple given names and only one middle name and family name.

Currently, we have stored in the database a total of 2600 given names and 17.100 Filipino family names.

As a result of these additions, the software can interpret the following names:

• The Name Parser can now parse names like "Minvilu Carandang" and "Jomar Sugabo".
• The Name Matcher can now compare names like "Ligaya Amoguis" with "Libay Amoguis".

Burmese Names Imported

Along with more than 400 other languages, Burmese is part of the Sino-Tibetan language family, representing the official language of Myanmar.

Unlike most Western naming systems, Burmese names do not have a surname at all. Instead, Burmese language has several hundred common name elements - primarily monosyllabic, like most Burmese words - that can be combined in a variety of ways to form unique names. Their full name includes the courtesy title, followed by the personal name which is usually composed of one element, two elements, or three.

Right now, our database contains a total of 670 Burmese terms, in both Burmese and Latin scripts.

As a result of this recent upgrade, the software can now interpret the following names:

• The Name Parser can analyze names like "Aung San Suu Kyi" and "Aung Aung".
• The Name Genderizer can determine the gender of names like "U Thung Nu" (male) and "Daw Thung Nu” (female).

More Slovak Names

Most closely related to Czech, Slovak is part of the Czech-Slovak group of the Slavic languages. Although Slovaks use the Western name order of putting the given name first and the surname last, they still reverse this order in official context.

Just like in Polish, the male and female forms of family names differ in Slovak. The famale gender is marked by the ová ending, thus the male form of "Horváth" becoming "Horváthová".

Our database contains 11.400 Slovak family names and 1600 Slovak given names.

The software can now interpret terms like those in the following examples:

• The Name Parser can now parse names like "Jolana Rajnohová" or "Peter Križan".
• The Name Genderizer can identify the gender of names like "Peter Popluhár" (male) or "Helena Poórová" (female).

Larger Name Database

Our recently updated DB has thousands of new names from various cultures.

During the past few months, our team of data researchers has been adding new names and name relations (variants, hypocorisms) from several European, African and Asian cultures.

Now, the software is able to parse names from 3 new languages of Japan, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Angola.

More Hungarian Names

Along with Finnish, Hungarian is part of the Finno-Ugric language group, stemming from the area of the Ural mountains and some regions of Siberia, making it rather outstanding among other European languages. The names and naming structure in Hungary are also quite special, being one of the few languages in Europe where the surname precedes the given name/names.

Currently, our database contains 6300 Hungarian family names and 2500 Hungarian given names.

Our software can now interpret the following names:

• The Name Matcher can match names like "Ferenczi Ádámka" with "Ferenczi Ádám" and "Zsigmond Timi" with "Zsigmond Tímea".
• The Name Parser can parse names like "Elekes Dénes" or "Benedek Csilla".
• The Name Genderizer can identify the gender of names like "Mátyus Botond" (male) or "Kardos Blanka" (female).

Italian Names Imported

Part of the Indo-European group of languages, and also part of the Romance languages subdivision, the Italian language evolved from the Vulgar Latin used in the Roman Empire period. Italian names typically have two compounds: a given name (nome) and a surname (cognome).

Italian surnames are very diverse and as the data gathered by Istat claims, it seems that the ten most common surnames, like "Rossi" and "Greco" only cover around the 2% of the national population, as opposed to other countries, like Denmark, where it covers 33% at least.

At present, the NameAPI database of names contains a total of around 10.000 Italian given names and 60.000 Italian family names.

In consequence, the software can interpret the following names:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Annateresa Arieti" and "Nicoletto Archivolti".
• The Name Matcher can now compare names like "Nunziata Della Riccia" with "Gigio Della Riccia".

More Research, More Names

An updated version of the DB has been deployed with new names from multiple cultures.

Our research team has been working closely with collaborators from all around the world, enriching the DB with 3 new languages and thus enabling the software to parse names from some particular cultures of Congo, Angola, Zambia and Ghana.

We have also added new names from various European and Asian cultures.

French Names Imported

As it is globally known, French language is spoken widely in some European countries, but also in Canada as a second official language and around the African continent where it has many different dialects. French names are usually composed of one or multiple given names (prénom) and a surname (nom de famille).

Currently, we have stored in the database a total of 3.200 given names and around 15.400 French family names.

As an outcome for these additions, the software can interpret the following names:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Anne-Cécile Duvert" and "Marc-Antoine Guerillot".
• The Name Matcher can now compare names like "Christelle Aurégan" with "Pierre-Emmanuel Aurégan".

Turkish Names Imported

With Turkish being the most widely spoken language of all Turkic languages, our team of researchers and collaborators has carefully reviewed the Turkish culture in the past year.

By doing this, we enriched the NameAPI database with approximately 12.400 new Turkish names and added 870 relations between them.

At the moment, our database contains more than 39.000 Turkish family names and 11.000 Turkish given names.

As a result of these improvements, the software can interpret the following names:

• The Name Parser can now analyze names like "Gülnaz Ertümen" and "Türkbey Öd".
• The Name Matcher can now compare names like "Güzide Büyükakyüz" with "Pürhan Büyükakyüz".

Software Version 9.8.1 Deployed

• Allow "incomplete" full names in the Name Parser ("John & Angie").
• Add caching for the Field Name Parser, Name Parser service.
• Name Matcher improvements for MULTIPLE people in the full name field.
• Fix exception for Yahoo email addresses starting with hyphen, e.g. "[email protected]".
• Improve performance for the "compute gender/culture" functionality.
• And more.

Note: The endpoint remains the same:  https://api.nameapi.org/rest/v5.3/

The NameAPI services can parse and match now more names due to our extensive Name Database that gets updated frequently and is constantly enriched with new terms by our data research team and native collaborators.

Larger Name Database

We have great news about our new DB that has been recently deployed with significant developments made in regards of several cultures.

Our research team, together with collaborators, has enriched the DB with 3 new languages, enabling the software to parse names from specific cultures of Iran, Tanzania, Kenia and Angola.

We have also enhanced our knowledge about names from several European, Asian and South American cultures.

Polish Names Imported

Polish stands in the line of Slavic languages making a distinction between male and female surnames. During the collecting of Polish names, besides the neutral surnames which have the same form regardless of the person's gender, we have discovered that male surnames ending in -cki, -dzki, -ski and -y have their female equivalents ending in -cka, -dzka, -ska and -a.

Currently our database contains 320.400 Polish surnames and 2700 Polish given names.

In the last year, our data researchers have expanded our database with 45.372 relations between Polish surnames.

As a result of these recent additions, the software can now interpret the following names:

• The Name Parser can analyze names like "Crystian Marcinkowski" and "Anna Cichorska".

• The Name Genderizer can determine the gender of names like "Anna Krakowska" (female) and "Crystian Krakowski” (male).

The Cat-and-Mouse Game Continues

We have found lots of new DEA providers and are now identifying more disposable email addresses than ever.

Try a live demo out here:

Disposable Email Address Detector

Europe under the Microscope

Recently, around 10,000 new Turkish family names have been added to our database thanks to the contribution of our Turkish collaborator. Aside from our data on this transcontinental country, the names from Macedonia, Georgia, Russia, Finland, Ukraine, Albania, Belarus benefited from improvements during research and consultations with our native freelancers.

An Expanding International Team

The number one rule of data is that it needs to be accurate; needless to say, we make it our top priority too. While excellent research brings valuable information to the table, we believe that the native review of our data is fundamental. Throughout the years, we have been having around 80 collaborators from over 40 countries; even if 2020 did not make it easy for us to have international freelancers in our office, we have continued our collaboration remotely, reviewing, improving, and adding value to our already impressive database.

Numbers Don't Lie

2020 was a prolific year in terms of the expansion of our database. We focused on family names and we imported terms from many cultures, including Hungary, Azerbaijan, Ireland, Greece, Turkey, Moldova, and Poland. We are happy to announce that we manually reviewed and imported more than 100,000 additional family names into our database throughout the year. Other term types, such as Hypocorisms, Patronymics, Homonymics, and Titles, had a noticeable growth as well, in comparison to 2019.

Exceptional Times, Smart Actions

Our freelancers are working from home to ensure the quality of our Chinese, Finnish and Moldovan names.

New International Collaborators!

2019 Around the World

In 2019, we had the pleasure of working with collaborators from Ukraine, Brazil, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Finland, Georgia, Slovakia, Kosovo, Uzbekistan, Martinique, France, Indonesia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, China, Armenia, and India. We would like to thank all of our collaborators, some of whom have been already mentioned on our Facebook account.

New Name Database

Dutch Names Imported

New DB Version

Version 5.3 Deployed

Version 5.3 Release Candidate is Online

Version 5.2 Deployed

Version 5.2 Release Candidate is Online

Version 5.1 Deployed

Version 5.1 Release Candidate is Online

Version 5.0 Deployed

Version 5 Release Candidate is Online

The server address is rc50-api.nameapi.org

This is the time to test your installations.

You can keep your existing client library (that uses SOAP/WSDL under the hood) and just connect to the new server. It should work the same, the SOAP APIs are still there.

Or else you can update your dependency, and connect to the new server. You may have to adjust some of your userland code for new return objects (name parser).

Faster Server Failure Detection

Faster Trash Email Domain Detection

Although there are thousands of disposable email address domains, the majority of addresses come from a handful of well known providers: those that people remember by heart, have bookmarked, or that show up on Google searches.

Because these providers are well known and blocked by lots of sites, the providers change their domain names used in trash email addresses from time to time. Some have large pools of domains.

NameAPI uses technology to detect and verify new domain names quickly:

• automatic content checking on the top sites (more sites added in version 5)
• known trash-only SMTP server addresses (this part is new in version 5)
• high risk semantic meaning of domain names

Version 5 Preview is Online

This is an early preview of the new major release with the brand new REST API. The client libraries as being updated in the process.

Best demonstrated by a running clickable demo: http://preview-api.nameapi.org/rest/v5.0/system/ping?apiKey=test

Announcing Version 5

Version 4.2 Deployed

As announced two weeks ago, the version 4.2 has been installed on the public servers.

For detail see the announcement.

Version 4.2 Release Candidate Online for Testing

Release plan

How to access

How to report issues

What happens if you do nothing

API changes

Improved functionality

Massively increased name database size

Improved name parsing

White Paper: Name Genderizing

Version 4.1 Deployed

As announced two weeks ago, the version 4.1 has been installed on the public servers.

For detail see the announcement.

Version 4.1 Release Candidate Online for Testing

Release plan

How to access

How to report issues

What happens if you do nothing

API changes

Improved functionality

Massively increased name database size

More email address classification

More disposable Email Addresses are detected. 

More functional email address local parts classified

More domains classified