Extract Name Field from Email Content Using Python in Zapier

Other Questions Zapier
1

I’m working with email data from Gmail that contains customer information. I need help with extracting the name field and then splitting it into separate first and last name components for spreadsheet import.

Here’s what I’m trying to do: first extract the name using a pattern match, then split that extracted name in a follow-up step. I’m stuck on the Python code needed for the extraction part. I think I need to locate the “Name” label in the email content and grab the value that follows it, but I’m not sure about the exact approach.

Sample Email Content:

Event Title: Workshop Registration

Name: Sarah Johnson  
Username: sarahjohnson456
Company: Tech Solutions Inc
Address: 456 Oak Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101
Phone: 206-555-0198
Phone2: 206-555-0199
Fax:
Email: [email protected]

What Python pattern matching code would work best for pulling out just the name portion from this type of email format?

2

For this email format, string splitting beats regex. Just find the ‘Name:’ line and grab everything after the colon:

lines = email_content.split('\n')
for line in lines:
    if line.strip().startswith('Name:'):
        full_name = line.split(':', 1)[1].strip()
        break

This won’t break on special characters like regex might. Works great with international names or titles like ‘Dr.’ or ‘Ms.’ Plus it’s way easier to debug - just print each line to see what’s happening.

3

I’ve done similar email parsing in Zapier and regex works way better here. Line-by-line parsing breaks when email formatting gets wonky - extra whitespace, Name fields not on their own line, you know the drill.

Here’s what I use:

import re

pattern = r'Name:\s*([^\n\r]+)'
match = re.search(pattern, email_content)
if match:
    full_name = match.group(1).strip()

This finds ‘Name:’ plus any whitespace, then grabs everything until the next line break. Handles tabs or multiple spaces after the colon. I’ve run thousands of emails through this - works great even when email clients mess up formatting or people copy-paste from random sources.