In the past, it used to be challenging to find someone with their name. It took hours of searching through social media profiles, Yellowpages and a lot of asking around. However, all of that is changing. Today, it’s simple to find someone with only their name. It just comes down to knowing where to look.
The best way to find someone with only their name is to perform a people search using a people search engine, but there are several ways to find someone by name.
To help you save time and money, we list the best options below.
- People search engines
- Social media
- Google searches
1. People Search Engines
People search engines are the best way to find someone if all you have is their name. These search engines allow you to search through thousands of public records databases, which helps you save time. People search engines also reveal the most information about someone, so you can Google them or find them on social media later.
Still, there are many people search engines to choose from. Fortunately, Information.com is miles ahead of the pack. With Information.com, you won’t have to worry about expensive fees, limited search results, or breaking any legal rules.
What sets Information.com aside from other people search engines the most, though, is the interface. It’s one of the fastest websites for people searches, and the search tool is easy for people of all ages and skill levels to use.
What Can You Find With a People Search Engine?
People search engines reveal a lot of information. In fact, you’ll find more with a people search engine than you will on social media or Google.
Finding information with these search engines is easy because they’re databases that only search for records about people. When compared to Google, a much broader search engine, this becomes more effective.
Some examples of information you’ll find by using a great people search engine likeInformation.com include:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Home address
- Past addresses
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Spouse
- Family members
- Social media accounts
- Dating profiles
- Sex offender status
- Criminal records
- Active or closed court cases (unsealed)
- Traffic violations
The information can vary depending on who you’re searching for, so keep that in mind.
2. Social Media
Social media is another solid way to find someone with only their name. It’s effective because almost 60% of the global population has social media. Plus, more than 80% of people in the United States have at least one social media account.
Social media is effective because they have search tools that you enter someone’s name into. After clicking search, people who match the name will appear on your screen. Social media is also efficient because it’s possible to send friend requests and chat with people you find.
The drawback to social media is that some users don’t use their names, and some people don’t have social media accounts. That said, we’ll take you through the two best platforms to search for someone with only a name.
When you’re trying to figure out how to find someone with a name only, Facebook is the best social media platform to start with because it has the largest number of active users. In fact, Facebook has more than four billion active users and continues to add more each year.
Facebook is also an easy social media tool to use. Searching for companies, people, groups, and more is easy. All you have to do is enter someone’s full name into the search bar to find your results. Keep in mind that you might have to add them as a friend before you can chat with them.
Facebook also allows you to narrow down your search options and brings you results based on your friends and location. So, the person you’re looking for is usually the first person in the search results. It’s also easy to narrow down your search options if you know what groups or companies they’re affiliated with. You can even add an email address or phone number to the search to make it more specific.
LinkedIn is another great social media platform for finding people. The purpose of LinkedIn is to help professionals connect. Many people use the platform for work, and companies even hire employees from the platform. For these reasons, a lot of people use LinkedIn.
Finding someone by name on LinkedIn is as simple as entering their name into the search bar and searching for it. It’s also possible to find someone using a phone number, email address, or company affiliation.
Once you find someone, there is a chat feature to reach out, and you can make a connection. Keep in mind that connections and searches are limited with the free version of LinkedIn. Also, LinkedIn notifies the person you search for when you view their profile. Therefore, searching for someone on LinkedIn does not keep you anonymous. For some, a lack of anonymity is a deal-breaker.
Overall, social media is effective for finding someone with only a name. However, it’s not as effective as using a people search engine.
3. Google Searches
Google searches are also useful when you’re narrowing down how to find someone with a name only. What makes it unique is the size and scope of Google. Google is worth more than 1 trillion dollars and handles 92% of all searches. Plus, Google manages more than 3 billion searches per day. For these reasons, Google has one of the largest databases around. When it comes to finding someone, this is both helpful and harmful.
Finding some by name with Google is effective because social media platforms, Wikipedia pages, and other information about them will appear. In the case of someone who has a decent social media presence or career accomplishments, finding someone on Google is easy.
On the other hand, many people share the same name. So, you’ll find a bunch of people with the same name on Google, making it harder to narrow down the search results. Also, people who aren’t active online won’t appear in Google’s database.
To help you narrow down your Google search results, you can do a few things. Option A is to perform an advanced Google search. To do this, you place quotations around someone’s name. Then, when you click search or hit enter, Google will only show you results for that keyword—or name. Option B is to search for their company or any affiliated organizations. Doing so might help you find them when you check the company or the organization’s “about” page.
Final Words
When you’re searching for someone with only their name it’s important to look in the right places. Unfortunately, someone’s name isn’t always a lot to go off of. Plus, Google searching someone’s name will often leave you empty-handed. Therefore, starting with a people search engine is usually the most effective. You’ll learn everything you need to know about someone with only their name.
