SEARCH ENGINE USING NAME CLUSTERING

This disclosure relates to systems and methods for searching names using name clusters. A method includes receiving names, generating a plurality of phonetic cluster identifiers, forming a plurality of name clusters by grouping the names having an equivalent cluster id, removing names from the respective name clusters that differ from a root name by more than either a particular spelling of a phonetic sound or a specific member's reformulation according to a reformulation dictionary, and suggesting one or more names by generating a phonetic cluster id for the received name using the database of phonetic associations and returning names found in the name cluster that matches the phonetic cluster id.