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The second part of the Linguistic Search Standard defines the principles for identifying close name matches. These principles build on those defined in part one for identifying precise matches.

Principle 7: Name parts which are both spelt and pronounced in similar ways should be identified as a Close Match (e.g. Meier = Meyer, Thomson = Thompson).

Principle 8: All identical names should be matched regardless of the way they have been parsed for storage (e.g. James Martin = Martin James).

Principle 9: Common spelling mistakes should not prevent a Close Match from being identified (e.g. Jordan = Jordam).

Principle 10: The inclusion or omission of less significant name parts should be ignored (e.g. de Winters = Winters).

Following these principles should help to minimise the risk of overlooking a close match, without generating excessive amounts of false positive hits. Additional principles should be followed if match results should also include broad matches.

Please refer to our white paper on the Linguistic Search Standard for further details of how each principle should be applied, and why.