Patterns: Create a user profile

Name

Help users to enter their name accurately and confidently regardless of format.

The name pattern makes it as easy as possible for users to enter their name in the format required. This pattern is often used to validate identity and helps collect name elements in the most effective and least intrusive manner possible.

About this pattern

What problem does this solve?

People have a wide variety of names in various formats. It can be confusing and alienating for them to enter their name if it doesn’t conform to the form fields provided, or if the form fields don’t support the characters, length, or language they require. At the same time, the name fields are often used as a primary form of identity validation, so the agency — and privacy issues — require the information be entered in a specific and consistent way.

When to use this pattern

Follow this pattern when you need to ask for a user’s name as part of your service. Only ask for a name if you need it.

What’s the solution?

Provide multiple text entry fields that support a rich array of special characters and accents. Provide direction on how to complete the form and what to do if the name doesn’t fit into the provided format.

Guidance

What to do

  • Do support long text fields for each name. Allow users to enter up to 128 characters per field, but follow form norms for field display size.
  • Do support names as short as a single character.
  • Do consider confirming very short or empty name fields.
  • Do support a rich array of diacritics, accents, and alternative characters.
  • Allow users to enter more than one name in each field. Spanish-speaking people will often have two family names. Brazilians may have three or four family names.
  • Do allow both upper- and lowercase letters throughout each field.
  • Allow users to enter hyphens, apostrophes, and blank spaces in each name field.
  • Consider using the autocomplete attribute on name fields to allow the browser to autofill information that has been previously entered.
  • Do use fieldset and legend to group related fields together, and clear labels and attributes on these form elements.
  • Do display the complete name wherever the information is displayed (even if it is long), including on a confirmation page. You may need to truncate a name when used to convey logged-in status in the site header.
  • Do use hint text to help users understand which name should be used in each field.

What not to do

  • Do not require users to enter something in each field. In some cultures, such as Indonesian and Icelandic, people may have only one name.
  • If you need to request a middle name, don’t request just an initial. In some cultures, people often have multiple middle names and may not typically abbreviate them with initials.
  • Do not assume that a single character is an initial. Some names are one character long.
  • Do not normalize casing in names. In some names, such as McNamara and van der Waals, casing is part of the name.
  • Do not ask for maiden name. Women are not the only ones who change their names. Ask for previous name.

Name

Name
For example, Jose, Darren, or Mai
For example, Martinez Gonzalez, Gu, or Smith

Full name

Full Name
For example, Prof. Madeline Martinez Hernandez

Name preference

Preferred name
For example, Dr. Gu, Mrs. Schmidt, Alix Martinez
<h4 class="site-preview-heading">Name</h4>
<form class="usa-form usa-form--large">
  <fieldset class="usa-fieldset">
    <legend class="usa-legend usa-legend--large">Name</legend>
    <label class="usa-label" for="given-name">First or given name</label>
    <div class="usa-hint" id="gnHint">For example, Jose, Darren, or Mai</div>
    <input class="usa-input usa-input--xl" id="given-name" name="first-name" aria-describedby="gnHint">
    <label class="usa-label" for="middle-name">Middle name</label>
    <input class="usa-input usa-input--xl" id="middle-name" name="middle-name">
    <label class="usa-label" for="family-name">Last or family name</label>
    <div class="usa-hint" id="lnHint">For example, Martinez Gonzalez, Gu, or Smith</div>
    <input class="usa-input usa-input--xl" id="family-name" name="last-name" aria-describedby="lnHint">
  </fieldset>
</form>
<h4 class="site-preview-heading">Full name</h4>
<form class="usa-form usa-form--large">
  <fieldset class="usa-fieldset">
    <legend class="usa-legend usa-legend--large">Full Name</legend>
    <label class="usa-label" for="full-name">Full name</label>
    <div class="usa-hint" id="fnHint">For example, Prof. Madeline Martinez Hernandez</div>
    <input class="usa-input usa-input--xl" id="full-name" name="full-name" aria-describedby="fnHint">
  </fieldset>
</form>
<h4 class="site-preview-heading">Name preference</h4>
<form class="usa-form usa-form--large">
  <fieldset class="usa-fieldset">
    <legend class="usa-legend usa-legend--large">Preferred name</legend>
    <label class="usa-label" for="preferred-name">I prefer to be addressed as</label>
    <div class="usa-hint" id="pnHint">For example, Dr. Gu, Mrs. Schmidt, Alix Martinez</div>
    <input class="usa-input usa-input--xl" id="preferred-name" name="preferred-name" aria-describedby="pnHint">
  </fieldset>
</form>
<h4 class="site-preview-heading">Name</h4>
<form class="usa-form usa-form--large">
  <fieldset class="usa-fieldset">
    <legend class="usa-legend usa-legend--large">Name</legend>
    <label class="usa-label" for="given-name">First or given name</label>
    <div class="usa-hint" id="gnHint">For example, Jose, Darren, or Mai</div>
    <input class="usa-input usa-input--xl" id="given-name" name="first-name" aria-describedby="gnHint">
    <label class="usa-label" for="middle-name">Middle name</label>
    <input class="usa-input usa-input--xl" id="middle-name" name="middle-name">
    <label class="usa-label" for="family-name">Last or family name</label>
    <div class="usa-hint" id="lnHint">For example, Martinez Gonzalez, Gu, or Smith</div>
    <input class="usa-input usa-input--xl" id="family-name" name="last-name" aria-describedby="lnHint">
  </fieldset>
</form>
<h4 class="site-preview-heading">Full name</h4>
<form class="usa-form usa-form--large">
  <fieldset class="usa-fieldset">
    <legend class="usa-legend usa-legend--large">Full Name</legend>
    <label class="usa-label" for="full-name">Full name</label>
    <div class="usa-hint" id="fnHint">For example, Prof. Madeline Martinez Hernandez</div>
    <input class="usa-input usa-input--xl" id="full-name" name="full-name" aria-describedby="fnHint">
  </fieldset>
</form>
<h4 class="site-preview-heading">Name preference</h4>
<form class="usa-form usa-form--large">
  <fieldset class="usa-fieldset">
    <legend class="usa-legend usa-legend--large">Preferred name</legend>
    <label class="usa-label" for="preferred-name">I prefer to be addressed as</label>
    <div class="usa-hint" id="pnHint">For example, Dr. Gu, Mrs. Schmidt, Alix Martinez</div>
    <input class="usa-input usa-input--xl" id="preferred-name" name="preferred-name" aria-describedby="pnHint">
  </fieldset>
</form>

Considerations

  • Confirm you need this information. As with all personal information, consider whether you need to collect it at all. Clearly explain the reason for asking for the information and what will be done to secure the user’s privacy. For example, if you aren’t validating identity, you might not need to collect someone’s name, since a username will meet the need for account login.
  • Consider what name information you need. If you don’t need to parse out the separate pieces of a person’s name, consider letting the user enter it into a single full name text field.
  • If the name information is for identity validation. Many people routinely use variations of their name depending on context. Be specific about the name you are requesting. Clearly state the context, for example, “Please enter your name exactly as it appears on your passport” so that users can successfully provide the required information.
  • Consider the field labels. For many cultures, first name and last name are not intuitive. In Chinese, Korean, Hungarian, as well as other languages, the first name is the family name. This is an evolving space, with given name and family name becoming the recommended field labels. Consider using both in a phased approach as people’s comfort level with changing terminology increases (e.g., First or given name).

  • If you need the name for correspondence. If you are going to use the name information to address correspondence to the user, consider including a separate field that allows the user to specify how they’d like to be addressed. This reduces the potential for addressing someone in a way that they find disrespectful. Some cultures find it disrespectful not to include an honorific (Dr., Professor, Mrs.), while others find it overly formal.

    If you won’t be addressing correspondence, avoid asking for the user’s title. Doing so may reveal their gender and marital status, which they might not want to do. If you do ask for their title, use an optional text input field, not a select.

  • If you are collecting information on a family. Do not assume that partners or dependents of the person completing the form will have the same family name. In many cultures, children have a variation of their parent’s family name and children in blended families may not share a last name with their parents.
  • If you will be displaying the names in a list. Consider that some cultures expect names to be sorted by given name, not family name.

Accessibility

References

Disclaimer

Links to nongovernment sources are made for educational or source citation purposes only, and do not represent an endorsement of the organizations by the General Services Administration. The General Services Administration does not assume any responsibility for the content, operation, or policies of other entities’ websites.

Latest updates

Meaningful code and guidance updates are listed in the following table:

Date USWDS version Affects Breaking Description
2022-11-14 3.3.0
  • Guidance
 No

Pattern published.