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+---
+category: blog
+date:   2021-02-08 17:14:08 +0700
+lang: en
+translationKey: "first-name-last-name"
+tags: [name, culture, inclusion, awareness]
+title:  "Enough for first name/last name BS"
+---
+
+I keep seeing registration where I have to input my "First name" and my "Last name".
+What's the point? Isn't the user's full name just enough, if it's even needed?
+
+# Why you should avoid that
+
+It's blatantly ignorant!
+
+It assumes one must have a first name and last name to begin with.
+It is not the case for some country, such as Indonesia, where one can have
+just one name (also known as "mononym"). How are they supposed to fill your form?
+
+Those who do this often assume that given name (i.e. "first name") always comes first,
+and family name (i.e. "last name") comes last and display as such without asking.
+In many Asian countries, like China, Vietnam, or Korea,
+given name comes after family name. They also do this in Hungary.
+When they allow changing name order, they add a comma in between, also without asking.
+
+It is also not universally agreed upon where the middle names should go to.
+This is not a problem when the full name is not required (e.g. Facebook or Google account)
+but when full name is required (e.g. my school G-Suite account or for IELTS registration),
+it is problematic how they represent my name. A few lecturers whom I'm not close with
+keep referring to me by my middle name due to how Google displays my name.
+
+# Who do this?
+
+- Many web services, e.g. Facebook, Google, LinkedIn
+- Language certification tests: IELTS, TCF, DELF/DALF, ...
+
+# Proposed alternative
+
+- Just ask for full name. Governments do that and they're fine.
+- Ask how users want to be referred as, don't assume.
+  I never want to be referred by my family name.
+- Maybe avoid asking for real name at the first place
+  if you're just some online service. [Real name policy][real-name-bad] harms social network users.
+  Even Google dropped that BS.
+
+[real-name-bad]: https://stallman.org/facebook.html#realname