The National Library of Medicine began including the full names of authors in MEDLINE/PubMed citations to articles published in 2002. Beginning in May 2005 PubMed users were able to search for authors using their full first and last names (referred to here as full name). Please note that "first" name, sometimes called forename or given name, also includes middle names or initials. (Excerpt from NLM Tech Bull. 2009 Mar-Apr;(367):e12).

For the complete article see Skill Kit: Searching Full Author Names in PubMed®. NLM Tech Bull. 2009 Mar-Apr;(367):e12.