I also prefer to cite people by their full professional name whenever possible. Unfortunately, the only reliable way to find that information is to look for papers that they've written under their full name (whether first, or middle, or second-of-four, or what have you), while being very careful not to confuse authors with the same initial and last name.

In some fields, there are reasonably reliable review/citation databases like Mathematical Reviews or DBLP that disambiguate authors by full name, affiliation, and so on. (For example, DBLP successfully disambiguates me from another computer scientist that shares my first and last name.) A slightly less reliable method is to find the author's web page, or at least a web page at the author's department with their name on it, such as a faculty roster or a class syllabus.

But always remember that someone's full professional name may not be the same as their full legal name or their full given name. As Anonymous Mathematician points out, some authors consistently and deliberately publish under their initials to protect against sexism and other biases. The full professional names of these authors do not contain first names, only initials. A smaller number of authors (and groups of authors) publish under pseudonyms. Finally, authors from outside the US and Europe sometimes follow naming conventions that differ significantly from the modern European standard. (For example, one of my department colleagues publishes under what appears to be his last initial and first name; the reality is a bit more subtle. He doesn't go by either of those names in person.)

I also prefer to cite people by their full professional name whenever possible. Unfortunately, the only reliable way to find that information is to look for papers that they've written under their full name (whether first, or middle, or second-of-four, or what have you), while being very careful not to confuse authors with the same initial and last name.

In some fields, there are reasonably reliable review/citation databases like Mathematical Reviews or DBLP that disambiguate authors by full name, affiliation, and so on. (For example, DBLP successfully disambiguates me from another computer scientist that shares my first and last name.) A slightly less reliable method is to find the author's web page, or at least a web page at the author's department with their name on it, such as a faculty roster or a class syllabus.

But always remember that someone's full professional name may not be the same as their full legal name or their full given name. As Anonymous Mathematician points out, some authors consistently and deliberately publish under their initials to protect against sexism and other biases. The full professional names of these authors do not contain first names, only initials. A smaller number of authors (and groups of authors) publish under pseudonyms. Finally, authors from outside the US and Europe sometimes follow naming conventions that differ significantly from the modern European standard. (For example, one of my department colleagues publishes under what appears to be his last initial and first name; the reality is a bit more subtle. He doesn't go by either of those names in person.)

I also prefer to cite people by their full professional name whenever possible. Unfortunately, the only reliable way to find that information is to look for papers that they've written under their full name (whether first, or middle, or second-of-four, or what have you), while being very careful not to confuse authors with the same initial and last name.

In some fields, there are reasonably reliable review/citation databases like Mathematical Reviews or DBLP that disambiguate authors by full name, affiliation, and so on. (For example, DBLP successfully disambiguates me from another computer scientist that shares my first and last name.) A slightly less reliable method is to find the author's web page, or at least a web page at the author's department with their name on it, such as a faculty roster or a class syllabus.

But always remember that someone's full professional name may not be the same as their full legal name or their full given name. As Anonymous Mathematician points out, some authors consistently and deliberately publish under their initials to protect against sexism and other biases. The full professional names of these authors do not contain first names, only initials. A smaller number of authors (and groups of authors), publish under pseudonyms. Finally, authors from outside the US and Europe sometimes follow naming conventions that differ significantly from the modern European standard. (For example, one of my department colleagues publishes under what appears to be his last initial and first name; the reality is a bit more subtle. He doesn't go by either of those names in person.)

I also prefer to cite people by their full professional name whenever possible. Unfortunately, the only reliable way to find that information is to look for papers that they've written under their full name (whether first, or middle, or second-of-four, or what have you), while being very careful not to confuse authors with the same initial and last name.

In some fields, there are reasonably reliable review/citation databases like Mathematical Reviews or DBLP that disambiguate authors by full name, affiliation, and so on. (For example, DBLP successfully disambiguates me from another computer scientist that shares my first and last name.) A slightly less reliable method is to find the author's web page, or at least a web page at the author's department with their name on it, such as a faculty roster or a class syllabus.

But always remember that someone's full professional name may not be the same as their full legal name or their full given name. As Anonymous Mathematician points out, some authors consistently and deliberately publish under their initials to protect against sexism and other biases. The full professional names of these authors do not contain first names, only initials. A smaller number of authors (and groups of authors) publish under pseudonyms. Finally, authors from outside the US and Europe sometimes follow naming conventions that differ significantly from the modern European standard. (For example, one of my department colleagues publishes under what appears to be his last initial and first name; the reality is a bit more subtle. He doesn't go by either of those names in person.)