How to count double-barrel name as one word

Justin9 — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 00:46:17 GMT

Can someone tell me how I would change my code to accommodate for double-barrelled names? I am creating a new variable called 'Middle_Initial' and trying to get the first letter of the first middle name (if someone has a middle name, it will be always the third word, after title and forename), but my code is counting double-barrelled names as two words instead of one.

For example, with Ms Anne-Marie Beasley, my code is counting four words instead of three. As a result, my created 'Middle_Initial' variable is showing "B" instead of being blank (as Anne-Marie is supposed to just be one word for the forename).

Another example is Mr James Headey-Greaves. My countw function is counting four words instead of three (as Headey-Greaves is the surname and Headey is not a middle name), so my created 'Middle_Initial' variable is showing "H" instead of being blank.

Please can someone help to suggest a fix to my code?

data final_checks;
   set testing;
   Title=scan(Name,1,1,' ');
   Forename=scan(Name,1,2,' ');
   countofwords=countw(Name); /*Issue with double-barrelled names not counting as one word*/
   if countofwords>3 then Middle_Initial=substr((scan(Name,3,' ')),1,1); /*Issue with double-barrelled names not counting as one word*/
   Surname=scan(Name,-1,' ');
run;

Re: How to count double-barrel name as one word

SASKiwi — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 01:00:34 GMT

This should correct your word counting:

data _null_;
  full_name = 'Mr James Headey-Greaves';
  word_count = countw(full_name,,'AL');
  put _all_;
run;

topic Re: How to count double-barrel name as one word in SAS Programming

How to count double-barrel name as one word

Re: How to count double-barrel name as one word