A system and method for improved name matching using regularized name forms is presented. A regularization rule engine uses culture-specific regularization rules to iteratively convert candidate names and query names to a canonical form, which are regularized candidate names and regularized query names, respectively. The regularization rules are context-sensitive or context-free rules that pertain to a name's originating culture. Subsequently, a name search engine compares the regularized query name with the regularized candidate names and identifies the regularized candidate names that meet a particular regularization matching threshold. In turn, name search engine selects the candidate names that correspond to the identified regularized candidate names and provides the selected candidate names to a user.