Surname/last name.

Internationalization usage for Germanic languages. An example of a <last name prefix> is the "van" in "Ludwig van Beethoven." Since the <last name prefix> doesn't sort completely alphabetically, it is reasonable to specify it as a separate sub-component of the PN and extended PN data types (XPN and XCN).

Note: To "translate" these two subcomoponents to a single last name, prepend the <last name prefix> to the <family name> component. If the <last name prefix> is not null, the <last name prefix> should not also be present as part of the <family name> component.

Used to specify a name suffix (e.g., Jr. or III).

Used to specify a name prefix (e.g., Dr.).

Used to specify an educational degree (e.g., MD). Refer to user-defined table 0360 – Degree for suggested values.

A code that represents the type of name. Refer to HL7 table 0200 - Name type for valid values.

Note: The content of Legal Name is country specific. In the US the legal name is the same as the current married name.

Different <name/address types> and representations of the same <name/address> should be described by repeating of this field, with different values of the <name/address type> and/or <name/address representation> component.

Note: This new component remains in "alphabetic" representation with each repetition of the field using these data types. I.e. even though the name may be represented in an ideographic character set, this component will remain represented in an alphabetic character set.

In general this component provides an indication of the representation provided by the data item. It does not necessarily specify the character sets used. Thus, even though the representation might provide an indication of what to expect, the sender is still free to encode the contents using whatever character set is desired. This component provides only hints for the receiver, so it can make choices regarding what it has been sent and what it is capable of displaying.