Trying to create a perfect regex pattern for first or last names is a lost cause. No matter how well you design it, there will always be a valid name that breaks the rules.

Take Elon Musk’s child’s name, for example: X Æ A-12 Musk. This name includes spaces, special characters, and numbers—all things that many name validation patterns would reject. Yet, it is a real, legally recognized name.

Names vary across cultures, languages, and personal choices. Some include hyphens (Jean-Luc), apostrophes (O’Connor), or even single letters (U Thant). Others use non-Latin characters or symbols that don’t fit a strict pattern.

Instead of trying to enforce rigid validation, it’s better to allow flexibility and only prevent clearly invalid inputs (like empty strings). After all, names are as unique as the people who have them!