Search for Person by Partial Name
Search for people using partial or incomplete name information
When you only have partial name information, use the individual name parameters (first_name, middle_name, last_name) to search more precisely than using the combined name parameter.
When to Use Partial Name Search
Use individual name parameters when:
- You only know a person's first or last name
- You need to search across variations of a name
- You want more control over which parts of a name to match
Search by Last Name Only
Find all people with a specific last name in a location:
curl 'https://api.whitepages.com/v2/person?last_name=Smith&city=Seattle&state_code=WA' \
--header 'X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY'Search by First and Last Name
When you know both first and last name but want to match regardless of middle name:
curl 'https://api.whitepages.com/v2/person?first_name=John&last_name=Smith&state_code=NY' \
--header 'X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY'Include Middle Name for Precision
For more precise matching when you have complete name information:
curl 'https://api.whitepages.com/v2/person?first_name=John&middle_name=Robert&last_name=Smith&zipcode=10001' \
--header 'X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY'Combining with Location Parameters
For best results, always include at least one location parameter:
| Combination | Use Case |
|---|---|
last_name + state_code | Broad search within a state |
last_name + city + state_code | City-level search |
first_name + last_name + zipcode | Precise local search |
Name Parameter vs Individual Parameters
| Parameter | Behavior |
|---|---|
name | Matches against the full name field, flexible ordering |
first_name + last_name | Matches each field specifically, more precise |
Use name for convenience when you have a full name string. Use individual parameters when you need precise control or only have partial information.
Related
Fuzzy Matching
Broaden person search results with phonetic, nickname, and misspelling matching
Person Search
Look up individuals by name, phone, or address
Search for a person by name, phone number, and address
Retrieve person information with match scores and enriched emails. Raises ------ StrictMatchWithFuzzyMatchingError If ``strict_match`` and ``include_fuzzy_matching`` are both set to true — the two flags are semantically contradictory.