How To Find a Person Online If You Have Their Name and City

Finding people can be very tricky if the information you have about them is limited. Between search engines and social media sites, you might be able to track someone down even if you only have a name and a city to go by.

There are also websites which are designed specifically for this purpose, but they aren’t all reliable. Read on to discover some trustworthy options.

Some Tips Before Beginning the Search

If you’re planning to find people based on sparse information, you should keep the following points in mind:

It is not going to be easy – You will have to be patient and try out many things before you can find someone. Rather than wasting too much time looking in one place, try to divide your time looking in different directions. Try to be systematic about it, and don’t hesitate to ask for help.
No need to waste money – There are many websites online that will try to fish for money, claiming they have an easy way of tracking people. Try to avoid them, because most of them are scams. Legitimate ones are very pricey, and it’s best to think of them as the last resort. In the further text, you will find many solutions for finding people without spending a dime.
It matters whether the person is alive – If you are looking for a person who is deceased, the search process is going to be different. It is best to look up genealogy sites, which are a great source of information when it comes to people who passed away.

The Old Fashioned Way

Before digging into the many possibilities the internet has to offer, here is how you can find people with offline methods.

Look them up in the phone book- This is the most common way of looking for people if you don’t want to use the internet. It can be frustrating because there are many people who share the same name. If there are not too many names on the list, try calling each one and see if it is the person you are looking for.

Check for them at your local library – You can often find institutional databases at libraries, and you cannot access these otherwise. ReferenceUSA is a good example. Ask the librarian to help you find the person you are looking for by their name and city.

Find Someone on the Internet

Using a search engine – Of course, Google is the first option that comes to mind when we are looking for something or someone online, but Yahoo and Bing work just as well. Try to enter as much information as possible about the person you are looking for, such as their profession or where they went to school. Do not be discouraged if there are too many results, you can narrow it down by adding information about the person.
Using social media – Most people today use one of many social media apps. Facebook is probably the best place to start, having over one billion users worldwide. Log in and use the search bar to find who you are looking for. Type in their name and city and you will be given a list of all people matching that info. You may have to scroll through multiple pages until you find them, so it is good to know where they went to school or where they work. Myspace is a little outdated, but you can try it. Instagram is a great place to look if the person you are looking for is younger.
Zabasearch – This directory engine lets you find people for free, and it is both thorough and completely free. It uses information that is publicly available, so it does not present a breach of privacy. You just type in the name in the search bar and select the state of the person you are looking for.
Whitepages – Finding a person by name and city on Whitepages should not be difficult, assuming they are in the database.
Pipl – Pipl is another great site which searches for information on social media and on the deep web. This means it can find data that is not available to regular search engines.
FamilyTreeNow – This website is one of the best when it comes to finding people when you only know their name and city. It shows you their address, family members and associates.

Lost and Found

You should be able to find the person you are looking for by using the methods listed above. If you are out of luck, there are many more people-searching sites to choose from. Just be cautious, as not all of them are safe or free to use.