How to make 'Last Name' field in 'Create Lead' form non-mandatory

[SonalikaG]

Hi, is there a way to make the 'Last Name' field in Create Lead form non-mandatory? Currently, we cannot submit a Lead without providing data in the 'Last Name' field. Please suggest a way.

[srbaker]

I'm a fan of this, but I think an even better solution is to just merge First Name Last Name into "Name." Would such a patch be reasonable?

[johnbumgardner]

Yeah I like this idea. Probably scales better to non western cultures too

[johnbumgardner]

tagging this with good first issue. @srbaker if youre interested in implementation please be our guest

[srbaker]

I'm going to take a crack at this. Thanks!

[johnbumgardner]

I'm going to take a crack at this. Thanks!

awesome, feel free to reach out to me if you have questions

[clevertension]

@johnbumgardner so i think it is good idea to merge First Name and Last Name to Name, so i can implement it

[ferrisoxide]

Is merging first and last names potentially a bit "lossy"? I understand that there's some value in just having a name, but are there cases where being able to identify a lead's first name might be useful?

I'm thinking of the use case where you are constructing an email campaign. Reaching out to someone with the greeting "Hi Elizabeth Blackwell" is more formal than "Hi Elizabeth". If you are going for a more personal approach, using someone's full name might not be ideal.

I wonder if just making last_name optional might be a more flexible alternative than combining first and last names. Or perhaps the naming scheme could be configurable. I don't necessarily have a solution here - just thinking things through in my own head.

[ferrisoxide]

Something else to consider: if we flatten first_name and last_name to just name we will have to do the same for Contact, otherwise we won't be able to convert Leads to Contacts.

[CloCkWeRX]

I'm open to a pull request adding a "display_name" or similar, which can be new/distinct from the structured named elements.
Over time, this can evolve to be the default.

Be aware of
https://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/

[ferrisoxide]

The original request from @SonalikaG was fairly simple. Is there a danger we'll end up complicating things in the search for a more comprehensive solution that we don't have a current requirement for?