Fuzzy Matching
Broaden person search results with phonetic, nickname, and misspelling matching
Use the include_fuzzy_matching parameter to enable fuzzy name matching. When enabled, the search runs additional phonetic, nickname, and common misspelling matching logic at the cost of additional latency.
Basic Usage
Add include_fuzzy_matching=true to your request:
curl 'https://api.whitepages.com/v2/person?name=John%20Doe&city=New%20York&state_code=NY&include_fuzzy_matching=true' \
--header 'X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY'Without fuzzy matching, this search may return no results if the name doesn't exactly match a record. With fuzzy matching enabled, the search can find records with phonetic variations, nicknames, and common misspellings.
Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
include_fuzzy_matching | boolean | false | Enable fuzzy name matching to broaden search results |
How It Works
When include_fuzzy_matching=true, the search expands name matching to include:
- Phonetic variations — names that sound similar (e.g., "Tomas" matching "Thomas")
- Nicknames — common name variants (e.g., "Bob" matching "Robert")
- Initials — first or middle initial matching against full names
Exact name matches are still ranked higher than fuzzy matches, so precise results appear first in the response.
Confidence Scores
Fuzzy matches typically receive lower confidence scores than exact matches. An exact name match scores higher than a phonetic or nickname match for the same record.
Latency
Fuzzy matching runs additional matching logic and may increase response time compared to exact matching.
Response
The response format remains the same as a standard person search. Fuzzy matching only affects which records are returned and their confidence scores, not the structure of the response.