@bellingcat/alias-generator

alias-generator

Node module to generate likely aliases for a given human name.

Usage

In node

import getAliases from '@bellingcat/alias-generator';

let list = getAliases("William Randolph Hearst");
console.log(list);

In the browser

<script src="node_modules/@bellingcat/alias-generator/dist/main.js"></script>
<script>

  let list = aliasGenerator.getAliases("William Randolph Hearst");
  console.log(list);

</script>

Output:

[
  'william hearst',
  'hearst, william',
  'william randolph hearst',
  'hearst, william randolph',
  'william r hearst',
  'hearst, william r',
  'w hearst',
  'w randolph hearst',
  'w r hearst',
  'wr hearst'
]

Considerations

When generating name variants, many considerations apply and may be culturally specific. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_name

Initials may be substituted for first or middle names, and middle names may be omitted.

Example: The name "Alfred Jodocus Kwak" may appear online as any of the following equivalents:

• Alfred Kwak
• Alfred J. Kwak
• AJ Kwak
• A. J. Kwak
• Kwak, Alfred J
• Al Kwak

Name order is culturally specific: East Asian names are often written surname-givenname instead of the western style of givenname-surname, not to mention in a different character sets:

Example: Hayao Miyazaki

• Miyazaki Hayao
• 宮崎 駿

Patronyms/matronyms (names derived from the given name of a parent) may appear before, after, or in place of a surname.

Example: Abel Janszoon Tasman ("Abel, son of Jan Tasman")

• Abel Tasman
• Abel Janszoon

Shortened or diminuitive versions of a name may exist and are culturally specific.

Example: Mike for Michael, Bill for William, Bob for Robert in the West. Katya for Ekaterina in Eastern Europe.

Marriage may result in surname changes, hyphenation or combination of one's original name(s).

Tussenvoegsels in Dutch names such as "van der Laan" may be abbreviated "v.d. Laan"

Possibly Helpful Libraries

• https://nameparser.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ (python)
• https://github.com/theiconic/name-parser (php)
• https://github.com/berkmancenter/namae (ruby)
• https://github.com/carltonnorthern/nicknames (python)
• https://www.nameapi.org/en/demos/name-parser/
• https://searchgizmos.com/generate-and-search-for-name-variants-with-carls-name-net/