Attributes for AD Users : givenName
In the Active Directory attribute givenName the first name of a user can be stored.
givenName
| LDAP name | givenName |
| Data type | String (max 64) |
| Multivalue (Array) | No |
| System Flags | 0x10 |
| Search Flags | 0x05 |
| In Global Catalog? | Yes |
| Attribute ID | 2.5.4.42 |
| AD DB attribute name | Given-Name |
| ADSI datatype | 3 - String(Unicode) |
| LDAP syntax | 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 - Directory String |
| Used in ... | > W2K |
| Schema Info | Microsoft - MSDN |
This field isn't used directly from the Active Directory system, it is a pure naming attribute without technical meaning (unlike the attributes displayName or sAMAccountName). However the givenName attribute is widely used if other forms of full user names have to be built automatically.