Who should read this article: Anyone who needs to look up a person online and only has the person’s full name to work with.
Introduction:
So all you have is the person’s name? Expect a challenging investigation, especially if the last name is common. So why take the time to read this article? Because you will discover how to save yourself time, money and frustration. As? Learning to avoid subtle traps and knowing when it is necessary to go deeper. Let us begin!
What you should know first:
Many first-middle-last name combinations are very common. So how do you know what is common? Let’s take a look at some very popular full name sequences for people born in the United States in the last 100 years:
The 20 most common given names for a man:
James, John, Robert, Michael, William, David, Richard, Charles, Joseph, Thomas,
Christopher, Daniel, Paul, Mark, Donald, George, Kenneth, Steven, Edward, Brian.
The 20 most popular given names for a woman:
Mary, Patricia, Linda, Barbara, Elizabeth, Jennifer, Maria, Susan, Margaret, Dorothy, Lisa, Nancy, Karen, Betty, Helen, Sandra, Donna, Carol, Ruth, Sharon.
Top 20 Surnames in the United States:
Smith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown, Davis, Miller, Wilson, Moore, Taylor, Anderson, Thomas, Jackson, White, Harris, Martin, Thompson, Garcia, Martinez, Robinson.
Second most popular names for a man:
Alan/Allen, Dean, Don, James, John, Joseph, Louis, Michael, Nicholas, Scott, Ray, Richard, William
Second most common names for a woman:
Ann/Anne, Beth, Claire, Elizabeth, Gay, Grace, Jane, Jean, Lee/Leigh, Linda, Lynn, Margaret, Mary, Rae
Let’s take some examples. If the full name of the person you’re looking for is any of the following combinations, you’ll have a hard time telling if you have the right person:
james allen smith
John Dean Williams
Robert Louis Johnson
mary ann jones
patricia claire brown
cute elizabeth davis
You get the idea. Know that with common names like these, you’ll get hundreds, if not thousands, of results to parse. So what else can you do? Two words: dig deeper. Do you have a date of birth (or at least the year of birth)? Perhaps the first three digits of your social security number? Where they were born? Do you need anything else. Find them!
How about not so popular names? Rare name combinations will make your research much easier.
Some rare names for a man:
Abram, Barrett, Cale, Dana, Easton, Fletcher, Gage, Harvey, Immanuel, Jan, Karl, Lamont, Marion, Nicklaus, Octavio, Paxton, Ralph, Silas, Theodore, Ulysses, Wade, Xander, Yale, Zakary.
More very rare given names for a man:
Angus, Arnome, Blair, Brandt, Briar, Derlin, Eldon, Emerson, Esau, Farris, Finlay, Flett, Gannon, Garson, Gatlin, Gervase, Gowan, Grayson, Greer, Halvard, Heaton, Jair, Jashon, Kyan, Lennex, Lucius, Orton, Perley, Phoenix, Porter, Rulon, Satchel, Tamir, Tevin, Wylie
Some rare names for a woman:
Ada, Beatrice, Caleigh, Daphne, Elaina, Farah, Guinevere, Hazel, Ivy, Joy, Kambree, Laurel, Magnolia, Nadine, Opal, Patience, Quinn, Ruby, Serenity, Tanya, Unique, Viviana, Willa, Xena, Yolanda, Zoey.
Weirdest given names for a woman:
Addison, Aditi, Adora, Agnes, Alba, Ariane, Ash, Bella, Bree, Bryelle, Cade, Cassidy, Davelyn, Hannah, Harrison, Houston, Jaleesa, Jameka, Josette, Keane, Kelsey, Lancaster, Lauren, Lysette, Martina, Maude, Nicolette, Noemie, Olivia, Pace, Philomene, Shae, Shalonda, Shyla, Tearah
Now here’s the list that will make your search much, much easier: last names or uncommon last names. The surnames below are just a sample, take a look at the mongabay reference for many more. Each of these surnames represents 0.001% or one thousandth of one percent of all surnames of US citizens.
Surnames or less common surnames:
Aikin, Baldree, Coello, Donlon, Ebbert, Firkins, Gehl, Hepp, Iser, Kelliher, Lustig, Malchow, Noggle, Orrell, Pilger, Rennick, Sax, Taube, Utsey, Vickrey, Weidler, Xie, Yop, Zehnder
I think you’ll agree that searching for name combinations like the following will be much less error-prone:
Brandt Porter-Aikin
Lucius Esau Noggle
Grayson Wylie Vickrey
Agnes Olivia Rennick
Hannah Harrison Donlon
Kelsey Lauren Kelliher
Note that only one of the three (first name, middle name, or last name) should be rare to make your search investigation easier. Realistically, with only one of the names in the “weird” category, you’ll still need to verify information like date of birth or social security number. With two of the three names known to be uncommon, you have a much better chance of finding the right person. And since all three names are considered rare, there’s a good chance you’ll find the exact person you’re looking for with just one search.
What you need to understand initially:
1. If you’re looking for a woman who’s been married, keep in mind that many women get their maiden name back after a divorce or even legal separation. If you don’t know your maiden name, then you need other identifying information. If this woman remarried and took the last name of her new husband, her chances of finding it are much lower, especially if her new last name is Brown, Smith, or Jones and she has a common name.
2. Both men and women can legally change their name to something completely different. If you’re looking for a smart and bright person who you don’t want to be found, you probably won’t find them through an online people search engine.
3. If you are looking for a person who has probably fled to another country, you should hire an offline detective agency. You need deep pockets. You have to ask yourself: how important is it for me to find this person and how much money and time am I willing to spend? It’s worth it?
4. Certain shady characters use different last names or first names, depending on where they are based and who they are working for. Typically, these are people who have previously been in trouble with the law in another jurisdiction and are moving to escape it.
5. Of course, it’s easy to illegally change your social security number. All anyone has to do is get the birth records, find a baby who died, and take her social security number and even her full name! Isn’t it difficult at all?
Recommendations:
1. You will find it difficult to do accurate research if the first/middle/last name combination is very common. With common names, you’ll no doubt have to look up other verification information.
2. Take a look at any online or offline name references if you have any doubts about the popularity or rarity of the name. Do this BEFORE attempting to conduct online research on your own. Remember, in most online databases, once you choose a record, YOU BOUGHT IT! If it turns out to be the wrong person, YOU WILL NOT GET YOUR MONEY BACK!
3. It doesn’t matter if you are sure that the person you are looking for has a criminal record and has served time. It is helpful if he knows exactly when and where he was convicted and in which prison he served his sentence. Since you know what the person is like, you can research his prison or arrest record to make sure he has the right person.
4. You should know that federal, state, county, and even municipal jurisdictions have their own rules about releasing information to the public. You may need to hire a lawyer or an offline detective to get the records you need. Take enough time to get all the information you need in one place.
5. Even with a rare three-name combination (like Lucius Esau Noggle), you might be in for a challenge if that person is bright enough to have changed their name to something else entirely, like Paul David Gray. On the other hand, it is a known fact that most people are not that original when they come up with an alias; they tend to use the same initials. For example, Lucius Esau Noggle could change his name to something more popular like: Larry Edward Nelson. Note that the initials are the same (LEN). Use this trend to your advantage. For example, if you have other verification information that matches Larry Edward Nelson, such as the exact same date of birth, it’s very likely that you found Lucius Esau Noggle posing as Larry Edward Nelson. Now go deeper!
6. Beware of people who have a weird first name and a common middle name. Often, they will adopt their middle name as their first name. So if you’re looking for a woman named Agnes Mary Williams, you might hide her rare given name (Agnes) from her and call herself Mary Williams, telling others that she doesn’t have a middle name. Or she could come up with a popular middle name and call herself something like Mary Elizabeth Williams. It doesn’t get much more common than that for a United States citizen.
7. Also be aware that there is a black market for fake birth certificates, fake driver’s licenses and fake passports. Many people use the social security numbers of deceased people and adopt them as their own. There is nothing new about false documents, except that it is now very easy to obtain false documentation. You just have to know where to go online. I found a “novelty certifications” site after a few seconds of searching. This website carefully explains that although the documents will look very realistic, they are actually fake. They leave the buyer any responsibility for their use. I’m sure there are many other websites like this one. Now how easy is that?
8. Are you willing to dig and dig and dig until you find who you are looking for? Imagine that you are looking for gold. If you give up, it may turn out that you were an inch or two away from finding a vein of gold nuggets. Once again, ask yourself how much time and money you are willing to spend to find this person. How much do you need to find this individual? What is it worth to you? Only you can answer these questions.
Best of luck finding the person you are looking for!
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