6.1.1 Name Normalization
The Individual, entity, vessel, and aircraft names are normalized using the following logic:
- Standardization of accented characters.
- Replacement of non-alpha (A-Z or a-z) characters with spaces.
If data is matched in the original language against original script names in the watch lists, then the appropriate character ranges must be removed from the Name Noise Characters Reference Data so that they are not replaced.
If transliteration of data is done before matching, then transliteration must also be done before name normalization.
- Normalization of whitespace.
- Conversion to upper case.
Note that the purpose of these transformations is not to create the most ‘correct’ name. For example, hyphens may be used in names in a number of ways, such as in a double-barreled surname, or as an alternative for a space when a surname has a qualifier (common in the World-Check data file).
In the former case, one might ideally want to preserve the hyphen, and in the latter case replace it with a space. In general, however, additional spaces in names will not cause names to miss matching, whereas different characters could.
The following table describes the Name Normalization example.
Table 6-3 Name Normalization
| Input data Forename | Input data Sur name | Identifiers dnGivenNames | Identifiers dnFamilyName | Identifiers dnFullName |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carmelo | Raschellà | CARMELO | RASCHELLA | CARMELO RASCHELLA |
| Darwen | MANN`A | DARWEN | MANN A | DARWEN MANN A |
| Badr bin Saud bin Harib | AL-BUSAIDI | BADR BIN SAUD BIN HARIB | AL BUSAIDI | BADR BIN SAUD BIN HARIB AL BUSAIDI |
| A. Arnaldo G. | TAVEIRA | A ARNALDO G | TAVEIRA | A ARNALDO G TAVEIRA |
| Jose Mardônio | DA COSTA** | JOSE MARDONIO | DA COSTA | JOSE MARDONIO DA COSTA |