Chosen name and pronouns on a contact

A contact has two name fields for a reason. "First name" and "Last name" are the LEGAL name -- the one a payment processor, a tax receipt, a background check or an e-signature has to carry. "Name they go by" is what Turtini actually addresses the person by.

Where the chosen name wins:

Everywhere a person is addressed. Contact lists and search results, avatars and initials, email campaigns and SMS ({{firstName}} and {{fullName}} both resolve to it), pledge reminders, the salutation on a donation acknowledgement, member and group rosters. You do not have to remember to use it on each surface -- one rule decides it everywhere, so a surface added later inherits it.

If someone enters only "Alex", they are addressed as "Alex". Turtini never staples the legal surname back on, because the surname is often the part that changed. A merge field for {{lastName}} renders empty for that contact rather than printing a name they did not choose.

Where the legal name stays:

Only where the law names the person. A donation receipt still lists the taxpayer of record as "Donor of Record" so the donor's deduction holds up, and that line appears only when it differs from the name in the greeting. Tax forms, payment rails, background checks and signature blocks are the same -- the legal name is retained, never replaced. A template author who needs it explicitly can use {{legalName}}, {{legalFirstName}} or {{legalLastName}}.

Pronouns:

Free text. Always optional, never a dropdown of three, and never a required field on any form -- an org admin cannot make it required either. Leaving it blank is a complete answer and nothing nags for it. Pronouns show to people inside the org and are not published on public pages.

Filling them in:

Contacts -> open a contact -> Edit. Both fields sit beside the legal name. A CSV import picks them up from columns named "Name They Go By" / "Chosen Name" / "Preferred Name" and "Pronouns", and an export includes both so a round trip does not drop them.

Your own account:

Settings -> Profile has the same two fields for you. What you set there is what teammates see in messages, mentions and member lists, and it is the name shown on your public profile -- the public page carries one name and does not reveal that you have a chosen one.

Searching:

Search still matches the legal name, so a record stays findable when the legal name is all you have (off a check, an ID, an older list). The row you find still displays the chosen name.