Its about time we get rid of first and last name fields. What’s the alternative? Full name for legal purposes, and preferred name for addressing people.
While first and last names might make sense in the English speaking world, its doesn’t quite fit in many cultures. Here are some examples:
- The last name may not indicate a family name.
- The first name may not indicate a preferred name.
- Middle names may not be considered unimportant. Sometimes the middle name IS the preferred name.
- People have names consisting of more than three parts, resulting in arbitrary partitioning to fit in to the first, middle, and last name structure.
- Many single-named people write their names in two parts.
- Wives do not always take the husband’s last name.
- Sometimes family members don’t have any names in common.
