Fake name detector: find test, placeholder and keyboard-mash names in a lead list
In short: Upload a list, tick the name columns, and rows with placeholder, keyboard-mash or repeated-letter names are flagged with the reason. Limit: Rules use English placeholders and Latin letters; other scripts are only checked for letters and repeats.
Upload a CSV or .xlsx file, or paste it with a header row, and tick the name columns. Rows are flagged for placeholder names such as test, John Doe or Mickey Mouse, keyboard mashing such as asdf, repeated letters, names with no letters, or the same text in every name column. Download all rows with the reason, the rows to keep, or only the flagged rows.
Price: this tool is free. Checking a whole email list is from $9/mo, and the first 100 checks are free with Google, no card. Check your list free nowSee pricing
Sample result
Six example rows flag 4: Test Test, John Doe and Mickey Mouse as placeholder names and hjklm Smith as keyboard mashing; 2 real-looking rows are kept.
- Rows flagged
- 4
- Placeholder names
- 3
- Keyboard mashing
- 1
What this means for you
A real-looking name does not show which addresses exist; a check does.
- John Doe, Mickey Mouse
- asdf and qwerty
- Repeated letters
- Reason for every flag
- Fake names
- Test data
- CSV
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
Test names out? Check the addresses in the rows you keep.
- Download the rows to keep, or use the check button under the result, which carries their addresses across.
- Upload or paste it at /verify. Every address gets a live mailbox check, and the first 100 email checks are free with a Google sign-in, no card.
How do I find fake names in a list?
- Upload the file as a CSV or .xlsx, or paste the cells with the header row first.
- Tick the name columns, such as first name and last name; ones with name in the header are ticked for you.
- Look at the flags by reason and the examples.
- Download all rows with the flag, the rows to keep, or only the flagged rows to check.
Example
- You enter
- Six rows of first and last name: Ava Stone, Test Test, John Doe, hjklm Smith, Ben Hart and Mickey Mouse.
- You get
- 4 rows flagged and 2 kept. Test Test, John Doe and Mickey Mouse are placeholder names and hjklm Smith is keyboard mashing; Ava Stone and Ben Hart are kept.
- Limits
- Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded. A real person can share a name with a placeholder, so check the flagged rows.
What counts as a fake name?
Placeholder words and famous stand-ins: test, sample, dummy, n/a, unknown, John Doe, Jane Doe, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and similar. Keyboard mashing such as asdf, qwerty and hjkl. Four or more of the same letter in a row, as in aaaa or xxxx. Names with no letters, such as digits only. Long words with no vowel. And rows where every ticked name column holds the same text.
The two name columns are also read together, so John in one column and Doe in the other is caught as John Doe.
Why remove them before outreach?
Test and junk names usually come with test or junk addresses: signup form tests, bots, or people who gave a false name to download something. They cost sending reputation without any chance of a reply, and a merge field that says Hi Test makes the rest of a campaign look careless.
A flagged name often has an address that is also fake; use the fake email checker on the rows you keep.
How careful should I be with the flags?
A flag is a prompt to look. Real people are named Test, Bar or Hi, and a short real name can occasionally look odd. Download the flagged rows, scan them, and add back any real person.
The checks are rules, not a model, so each flag names its reason and you can see why a row was caught.
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- Marketers
- Clean signup and webinar lists of test entries before a first send.
- Sales operations
- Find junk contacts in a bought or scraped list before loading a CRM.
- Ecommerce teams
- Spot fake names from bots and discount abuse in a customer export.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- Rules use English placeholders and Latin letters; other scripts are only checked for letters and repeats.
- A real person can share a name with a placeholder.
- It reads names only, not the address or any other column.
- Only the first sheet of a workbook is read.
Common questions
- What does it flag?
- Placeholder words, famous stand-in names, keyboard mashing, repeated letters, names with no letters, long words with no vowel, and the same text in every name column.
- Will it flag a real person named Test or Bar?
- Yes, it can. A flag is a prompt to look, so check the flagged rows before deleting any.
- Does it check the email address too?
- No. It reads the name columns only. Use the fake email checker or the list check for addresses.
- How does it catch John in one column and Doe in the next?
- The ticked name columns are also read together as one name.
- What do the three downloads contain?
- All rows with a reason column, only the rows to keep, and only the flagged rows to check.
- Is my file uploaded?
- No. It is read in your browser and goes nowhere.
A tidy list can still be full of dead addresses.
Extracting, deduplicating and syntax checks all work on the text of an address. None of them can tell whether the mailbox exists. Only the server that hosts it can answer that, through an SMTP check, and that is what the paid product does.
- Upload the cleaned file as it is: CSVs up to 100,000 rows
- A real SMTP mailbox check on every row, with catch-all detection
- Small list? Starter at $9/mo covers 2,500 emails a month, cancel anytime
Plans from $9 a month, cancel anytime, no contract. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. The free tools stay free either way.