SQL: parse the first, middle and last name from a fullname field

Question

How do I parse the first, middle, and last name out of a fullname field with SQL?

I need to try to match up on names that are not a direct match on full name. I\'d

Answer 1

It's difficult to answer without knowing how the "full name" is formatted.

It could be "Last Name, First Name Middle Name" or "First Name Middle Name Last Name", etc.

Basically you'll have to use the SUBSTRING function

SUBSTRING ( expression , start , length )

And probably the CHARINDEX function

CHARINDEX (substr, expression)

To figure out the start and length for each part you want to extract.

So let's say the format is "First Name Last Name" you could (untested.. but should be close) :

SELECT 
SUBSTRING(fullname, 1, CHARINDEX(' ', fullname) - 1) AS FirstName, 
SUBSTRING(fullname, CHARINDEX(' ', fullname) + 1, len(fullname)) AS LastName
FROM YourTable