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

Based on @hajili's contribution (which is a creative use of the parsename function, intended to parse the name of an object that is period-separated), I modified it so it can handle cases where the data doesn't containt a middle name or when the name is "John and Jane Doe". It's not 100% perfect but it's compact and might do the trick depending on the business case.

SELECT NAME,
CASE WHEN parsename(replace(NAME, ' ', '.'), 4) IS NOT NULL THEN 
   parsename(replace(NAME, ' ', '.'), 4) ELSE
    CASE WHEN parsename(replace(NAME, ' ', '.'), 3) IS NOT NULL THEN 
    parsename(replace(NAME, ' ', '.'), 3) ELSE
   parsename(replace(NAME, ' ', '.'), 2) end END as FirstName
   ,
CASE WHEN parsename(replace(NAME, ' ', '.'), 3) IS NOT NULL THEN 
   parsename(replace(NAME, ' ', '.'), 2) ELSE NULL END as MiddleName,
   parsename(replace(NAME, ' ', '.'), 1) as LastName
from  {@YourTableName}