Overview
LGM identifies a lead’s gender by matching their first name against a large database powered by GenderAPI. Even with extensive data, some names simply can’t be classified reliably.
Key benefits
Understand why gender detection sometimes fails
Identify when manual enrichment is needed
How a lead’s gender is identified
LGM automatically checks the lead’s first name using GenderAPI, which returns a likely gender based on global data.
However, three common situations prevent LGM from determining gender correctly.
1. First and last names are swapped
Some people reverse their first and last names on LinkedIn.
If LGM analyzes what it thinks is the first name but it’s actually the last name, it won’t be found in the database.
2. Unisex names
Certain names exist across multiple genders, such as:
Charlie
Camille
Andrea
Sasha
These names do not produce reliable gender detection results.
3. Rare or unknown names
If a name isn’t included in the GenderAPI database, LGM can’t determine a gender at all.
Tip: When you’re unsure about your audience, it’s safer to rely on the first name instead of a Gender + Last name format.
Pro tip: You can enrich your audience by manually filling in the gender for leads where it’s missing, especially if personalization is important to your campaign.
FAQs
Why does LGM sometimes assign the wrong gender?
Why does LGM sometimes assign the wrong gender?
This typically happens when a name is ambiguous, rare, or misformatted (e.g., swapped with the last name).
Can I manually correct a lead’s gender?
Can I manually correct a lead’s gender?
Yes, you can enrich your audience and manually update leads whose gender couldn’t be detected.
How can I avoid errors in my sequences?
How can I avoid errors in my sequences?
The safest option is to use the lead’s first name instead of any gender-based formatting.
Does LGM use multiple data sources to identify gender?
Does LGM use multiple data sources to identify gender?
No, gender detection is based solely on the GenderAPI database, which is highly accurate but not flawless.
Are international names detected reliably?
Are international names detected reliably?
Most are, but very rare names or those from underrepresented cultures may not exist in the database.