Parsing Name out with RegEx

Question

I am working with patient data and am parsing a 'Patient Name' column out using RegEx. The name column is structured as followed:

LastName FirstName MiddleName/Initial(sometimes) Suffix (sometimes)

Note: There are never any commas separating Last Name from First Name.

Examples:

Smith John B

Doe Jane

Smith John Brian Jr

Doe Jane Kate

My current RegEx works if there is a Middle Name or Middle Initial present, but will not work if a Middle Name/Initial is lacking. Can someone help make the expression dynamic to work even if there is no Middle Name/Initial? Below is my current expression:

(\w+)\s(\w+)\s(\w*)

Thanks for your help.

P.S. I know this can be done with a Text To Columns tool, but am trying to become more familiar with the RegEx tool.

kaca226_ · Accepted Answer

fmvizcaino

The expression works if there are trailing spaces after the ending name in Field1. So in your screenshot, if you add a Data Cleansing tool first to remove trailing spaces, the expression wouldn't parse out row #2. I was able to modify the expression in order to fix this issue. See below:

(\w+)\s(\w+)\s*(\w*)

I added the underlined * after the second \s, which appears to work. Thank you for your reply!