How to Extract First, Middle, and Last Names from a String in MySQL?

Extract first name, middle name and last name from string field in MySQL

Splitting a name string into first, middle, and last name is a common task in data processing. MySQL provides a variety of functions for this purpose.

Method 1: Separate first name, middle name and last name

This method utilizes the SUBSTRING_INDEX and LENGTH functions to extract each part of the name:

SELECT
   SUBSTRING_INDEX(SUBSTRING_INDEX(fullname, ' ', 1), ' ', -1) AS first_name,
   IF(LENGTH(fullname) - LENGTH(REPLACE(fullname, ' ', '')) > 1,
       SUBSTRING_INDEX(SUBSTRING_INDEX(fullname, ' ', 2), ' ', -1), NULL)
       AS middle_name,
   SUBSTRING_INDEX(SUBSTRING_INDEX(fullname, ' ', 3), ' ', -1) AS last_name
FROM registeredusers;

Description:

• SUBSTRING_INDEX(fullname, ' ', 1) Extracts the part of the string up to the first space.
• SUBSTRING_INDEX(..., ' ', -1) Retrieve the last element from this string, providing the name.
• IF Checks if the string contains multiple spaces (indicating the presence of a middle name).
• SUBSTRING_INDEX(..., ' ', 2) Then isolate the part containing the middle name and last name.
• SUBSTRING_INDEX(..., ' ', -1) Extracts the last part of the string, providing the last name.

Method 2: Separate first name and last name

If the middle name is considered part of the last name, you can use this method:

SELECT
   SUBSTRING_INDEX(SUBSTRING_INDEX(fullname, ' ', 1), ' ', -1) AS first_name,
    TRIM(SUBSTR(fullname, LOCATE(' ', fullname))) AS last_name
FROM registeredusers;

Description:

• SUBSTRING_INDEX(fullname, ' ', 1) Extracts the part of the string up to the first space, providing the name.
• LOCATE(' ', fullname) Find the position of the first space.
• SUBSTR(fullname, ...), starting at LOCATE, retrieves the rest of the string, including the middle and last name.
• TRIM Remove any leading or trailing spaces.

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