Fuzzy Matching (GNS)

Fuzzy matching allows you to search for place names, even if you don't know exactly how they are spelled. It is similar to a GNS 'Starts With', 'Contains', or 'Ends With' query, and similar to a GNS query which uses wild cards, but fuzzy matching is more sophisticated and more powerful, because it is tuned to name matching, not simply to general string matching. Fuzzy matching currently only works for Arabic names, but additional languages are expected in the near future.

To perform a fuzzy match, follow these steps:

1. Under General Information, select 'Fuzzy Search' as the search type from the drop down box on the right.
2. On the GNS Ad Hoc Query page, under General Information , select one of the following countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, or Yemen. (These are the countries whose names are transliterated using the BGN/PCGN 1956 Arabic Transliteration System.)
3. Under Fuzzy Search Criteria, select 'Show Vowels' or 'Hide Vowels', depending on whether you want to see Arabic vowel points on the results from your query. Vowel points are useful in pinning down the exact pronunciation of an Arabic name.
4. Under 'Minimum Match Quality', select a level from 1 to 9 depending on how strict you want to fizzy matching to be. Level 1 is least strict (i.e. more names will match your query string, and the matches can be farther from your query string). Level 9 is most strict (i.e. few names will match your query string, and the matches are constrained to be closer to your query string).
5. Select other search parameters as normal from the rest of the boxes on the search page.
6. When ready to perform your search, press one of the 'Search Database' buttons.

Since fuzzy matching is experimental technology, it may not always work as expected. If you have feedback on fuzzy matching, please provide it to our system team at: geonames@nga.mil, with "Fuzzy Matching" in the subject line.