Soundex Searches

What is Soundex?

The Soundex, or “sound-index”, groups names together based on the way they sound. This tool is especially useful for finding names with spelling variations. For example, "Smith" and "Smythe" have the same Soundex code.

Soundex codes begin with the first letter of the surname followed by a three-digit code that represents the first three remaining consonants. Zeros are added to names that do not have enough letters to be coded.

Soundex Coding Guide (Consonants that sound alike have the same code)

1 - B,P,F,V
2 - C,S,G,J,K,Q,X,Z
3 - D,T
4 - L
5 - M,N
6 - R
The letters A,E,I,O,U,Y,H, and W are not coded.

Names with adjacent letters having the same equivalent number are coded as one letter with a single number.

Surname prefixes (eg La or De)are generally not used in the soundex. Mc, Mac and O are generally not considered prefixes for soundex.

Soundex Limitations

Names that sound alike do not always have the same soundex code. For example, Lee (L000) and Leigh (L200) are pronounced identically, but have different soundex codes because the "silent" g in Leigh is given a code.
Names that sound alike but start with a different first letter will always have a different soundex code.
Soundex is based on English pronunciation so non-English names may not be soundexed correctly.
Sometimes names that don't sound alike have the same soundex code eg Smith, Shand and Saint!.

Back to Barnsley Indexing Project Home Page