Soundex

Soundex is a phonetic algorithm used to encode names based on how they sound when spoken. It assigns a letter and a series of numbers to each name, capturing its pronunciation rather than its spelling. This helps in matching names that sound similar but may be spelled differently, such as "Smith" and "Smyth." The main goal is to facilitate searches and data matching across different records by grouping similar-sounding names together, improving accuracy when exact spelling isn't known or consistent.