I need a generic validation for first and last name field that will be used everywhere. Currently I'm using:
/^[A-Za-z]?[A-Za-z ]*$/
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10Why are you validating peoples names? A name isn't like a credit card number which can fail. A name is a name.– JonW ♦Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 8:20
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4I point you to a popular old article - Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names– JonW ♦Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 9:50
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1Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names– BlueWizardCommented Jan 14, 2019 at 22:26
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2 Answers
Yes you should!
Your suggestion about having a validation rule would be a very bad idea. Did you know, the world's most common last name is 王?
Here is a classic article that you need to read: http://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/
All of these assumptions are wrong:
(...)
People’s names are written in ASCII.
(...)
People’s names do not contain numbers.
(...)
answered Jul 25, 2014 at 8:50
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2Nowadays, instead of referring to the original article, I tend to link to Falsehoods Programmers Believe Aboudt Names - With Examples.– DurothCommented Mar 12, 2020 at 9:11
I'm not sure regarding the code your using but I think if you'll have a small guidelines tooltip that will state that says not to use special characters in the first and last name that will be a nice UX , though i dont know what the application your using .. and not sure how you will apply it there ..(this forum has a tooltip like that for the password type here I found that very usfull)
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2Yeah, I don't think I would find it a Good User Experience to be told I couldn't use characters that are in my name when inputting my name.– JonW ♦Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 8:53
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1@JonW correct. Same with length restrictions, I've seen a screenshot of poor Mr. "Li" that couldn't get past the "minimum 3 characters" barrier– mspCommented Jul 25, 2014 at 9:21
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1@jonW true, you're right I thought you might be referring to sign like that .. @%^ in a user name .. so you are right!– J_pechCommented Jul 25, 2014 at 9:47
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Unless you are attempting to enforce legal requirements on names in a particular jurisdiction, what purpose could you have in restricting what people are allowed to call themselves?– tripleeeCommented Nov 15, 2017 at 5:34