As an investigative firm, we routinely receive requests from clients to find information on individuals of interest to them. When the person of interest has a common name, identifying the correct individual and sorting through results can be challenging.
Identity Confirmation: More Information = Better
When a client provides the name of the individual of interest, we start by developing key personally identifiable information (PII)—such as date of birth, known addresses, etc.—needed to conduct the investigation. Our resourceful analysts can often identify the correct person with an individual’s name and another scrap of information, such as a relative, a photo, or a business affiliation. Common names often require additional identifiers when conducting general media and online research, whereas a general canvassing can produce relevant results for unusual names.
Not surprisingly, the same issues apply when monitoring threats against individuals who have common names. A blanket search can yield an overwhelming number of hits, which must then be filtered to remove irrelevant results.
Consider a 2023 study of first and last name combinations that identified “James Smith” as the most common name in the United States, estimating that more than 38,000 individuals share this name. If you do the math, there are bound to be multiple James Smiths with the same date of birth, considering there are 365 days in most years and nearly 40,000 individuals with that name. When asked to investigate a “James Smith,” or even a common name much further down on the list, we typically require additional information to ensure we find the correct individual.
Even after finding the right person, common names can still present challenges during the investigation.
Database Research: Mixed-Up Results
Early in the investigative process, we often research databases for pointer data, which provides guidance regarding future search efforts. With common names, the information of different people with the same name is frequently commingled by accident. Sorting through the commingled information to remove irrelevant results can take extra time and resources.
Court Records: Additional Research Required
Searching court records often requires extra steps to confirm that the results match the correct person. Criminal records, for instance, are searched by name and date of birth (DOB), which are usually sufficient to match a record to a person. However, with common names, records that match the name and DOB of the individual in question may not actually belong to the subject of the investigation. When searching civil records, which are searched only by name, common names frequently generate a large, sometimes overwhelming, number of case results and require additional research to eliminate false positives and, if possible, confirm that a record belongs to the target individual.
Some instances require ordering case documents to learn more about a finding. These document requests can add significant cost to an investigation, and the documents, especially older ones, may be stored as hard copies in an offsite warehouse. The additional costs and time necessary to obtain the documents may be prohibitive, based on a client’s budget and timeline. While there are strategies to zero in on the information most important to a client, there is no “one size fits all” approach.
Criminal Records: Delays from Privacy Protections
Some jurisdictions, in a well-intentioned effort to protect privacy, have removed DOB information from the public court indices used to look up criminal records. In such cases, researchers must identify records by name match and then provide these records to the court staff to confirm which records match the DOB of the person of interest. Since a common name can generate a large number of potential records for the court staff to review, this can lead to significant delays in completing criminal record searches.
Social Media: Multiple Accounts
Social media often plays an important role in modern investigative work. However, for individuals with common names, many accounts may match the person of interest’s name. Matching social media accounts to the right person often requires additional background details, like family, friends, personal interests, and other information that is commonly posted on social media. Otherwise, significant additional research is needed to confirm that social media accounts belong to the individual under investigation.
Common names can make investigative research more challenging. Providing an investigative firm with as much information as possible about the person of interest increases the odds of identifying the right person. Also, keep in mind that common names can produce a large number of false positive results, potentially increasing the time and costs necessary to complete the investigation.
