# Add %{first name} variable to BCC plugin
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-first-name-variable-to-bcc-plugin/297599
**Category:** Feature
**Tags:** bcc
**Created:** [March 27, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-first-name-variable-to-bcc-plugin/297599 "2023-03-27T17:40:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@cogdog](https://meta.discourse.org/u/cogdog)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-first-name-variable-to-bcc-plugin/297599/1 "2023-03-27T17:40:54Z")
I am so glad I found this! It will help much for sending announcements as group messages as most people do not realize a reply goes to all.
The placeholders work although I cannot really see how I would personalize with a full name or a username. If I had my dreams, I’d like to use a first word of `%{name}` to address by first name (yes, some challenges there)
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### Author:  [@nathank](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nathank)
#### Post date: [November 1, 2023, 12:19am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-first-name-variable-to-bcc-plugin/297599/2 "2023-11-01T00:19:51Z")
> [@cogdog](#):
>
> The placeholders work although I cannot really see how I would personalize with a full name or a username. If I had my dreams, I’d like to use a first word of `%{name}` to address by first name (yes, some challenges there)
I totally agree and have asked for the same here:
> [@Add %{name} variable to BCC plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/improving-the-placeholders-for-the-bcc-plugin/186861/5):
>
> You are awesome! I’ll kick the tires once it is merged. Hey, I realised something else that was wrong with my Name suggestion above - we actually need Firstname. Do you reckon it is possible to just use the first word of the string? I could do that in Excel but no idea in Ruby!!!
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### Author:  [@jordan-violet](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jordan-violet)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2023, 3:05am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-first-name-variable-to-bcc-plugin/297599/3 "2023-11-09T03:05:56Z")
Would it be possible for the ability to have placeholders for first/last name in addition to full name?
It makes it much easier to send personalized messages to users en masse when you can reference their first name only, rather than their whole name.
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### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2024, 12:48pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-first-name-variable-to-bcc-plugin/297599/4 "2024-03-02T12:48:06Z")
Just to cross-link a possible complication that was noted in the topic Nathan linked above that makes this trickier than others:
> [@Add %{name} variable to BCC plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-name-variable-to-bcc-plugin/186861/8):
>
> Yeah, the bug should be fixed (I tested it repeatedly). In regards to first and last names, there can be no “one method fits all” as Discourse doesn’t have a separate field for first and last names, only one overall.
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### Author:  [@jordan-violet](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jordan-violet)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-first-name-variable-to-bcc-plugin/297599/5 "2024-03-02T14:22:58Z")
I would have to dig into how names are handled across different languages, regions, etc.
But I’d be curious to know how often (if ever?) first names are more than one word.
There of course could be multiple words in a last name, but splitting the name based on the first space would be easy to do.
I do this today with my community user names when I bring that data outside of the platform.
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### Author:  [@cogdog](https://meta.discourse.org/u/cogdog)
#### Post date: [March 2, 2024, 11:48pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-first-name-variable-to-bcc-plugin/297599/6 "2024-03-02T23:48:26Z")
From working in international communities, I refrain from referencing FirstName LastName, usualy for labnels I use “Given Name” and “Family Name”. And then at least for one example, in China, most common the Family Name is listed first (a suggestion of the importance of family over the individual?, yet often you find people from the region will provide a “western-ized” name to call them by (I work with a number of Dave’s in Taiwan ;-).
And even here in North America, I know of a number of people that have a two word first name (one is a daughter).
In my own work, I do not need to necessarily have a split into first/last, but at least some way of greeting a person in communication. I can understand the limitations on changing any data structure, and am okay using a convention of parsing by the first space to extract at least a name to address someone. Perhaps the form where a full name is entered could have some kind of explanation/label indicating that the first portion is used as a greeting name?
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### Author:  [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [March 3, 2024, 8:37am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/add-first-name-variable-to-bcc-plugin/297599/7 "2024-03-03T08:37:55Z")
Shuld there just be a custom one where is asked how an user wants to be called?
I don’t understand why an admin should say how users must be seen on lists. Users are using a forum and that forum is made for users, not for admins (unless… users are a product).
Sure, there can be some technically demands, but thats’s why we have devs and coders whos job is solve out such issues.
Yes, I know. Again drifting away from topic and behind my eyes are ghosting similar type other topic. But there should be some other solution that I would be called as Mr. Jakke Lehtonen.