Duplikatnavn

Duplikatnavn is a term in Danish and Norwegian that describes a duplicate name within a system or registry. It refers to situations where two or more entities share the same primary name, creating ambiguity and the risk of misidentification. Duplikatnavn commonly occurs in civil registries, corporate registries, libraries, and various data-management contexts.

Causes include common given names and surnames, inconsistent use of middle names or initials, transliteration from other alphabets, clerical errors, and limited name fields during data capture. Duplicate naming can also arise when records are merged from different sources without proper disambiguation.

Implications of duplikatnavn range from operational inefficiency and data quality problems to privacy concerns and safety risks in sensitive settings such as healthcare or social services. Misattribution of records, benefits, or responsibilities can occur if duplicates are not properly resolved.

Strategies to detect and resolve duplicate names involve using unique identifiers (such as national IDs, company registration numbers, or other persistent IDs) alongside names. Data governance practices, standardized name fields, and enrichment with disambiguating attributes (birth date, address, nationality) improve accuracy. Deduplication algorithms, including fuzzy matching and record linkage, are commonly employed, often complemented by manual review for uncertain cases.

Disambiguation approaches may include suffixes (Jr., Sr.), numerical identifiers, or additional name components. Establishing clear naming standards, regular data quality audits, and user education help minimize duplikatnavn and support reliable record-keeping across registries and databases.