BuddyPress.org

This is my big pet peeve with Buddypress; there is no consistent built-in way to store fullname (as firstname + lastname). Profile synching only happens when members update their profile using the WP backend.

This is by design. BP’s lead developer Andy Peatling believes firstname/lastname would not work for international users.

My ugly workaround is here. Also see this one. I use the Javascript trick to generate a username from the fullname, so at least those are easier to recognize.