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Document: getElementsByName() method

The getElementsByName() method of the Document object returns a NodeList Collection of elements with a given name attribute in the document.

Syntax

js

getElementsByName(name)

Parameters

name

The value of the name attribute of the element(s) we are looking for.

Return value

A live NodeList collection, meaning it automatically updates as new elements with the same name are added to, or removed from, the document.

Examples

html

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Example: using document.getElementsByName</title>
  </head>
  <body>
    <input type="hidden" name="up" />
    <input type="hidden" name="down" />
  </body>
</html>

js

const up_names = document.getElementsByName("up");
console.log(up_names[0].tagName); // displays "INPUT"

Notes

The name attribute can only be applied in (X)HTML documents.

The returned NodeList Collection contains all elements with the given name, such as <meta>, <object>, and even elements which do not support the name attribute at all.

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
getElementsByName 1
12Before Edge 79, this method returns an HTMLCollection, not a NodeList.
1
5Returns an HTMLCollection, not a NodeList
5 1 4.4 18 4 10.1 1 1.0

See also

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https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Document/getElementsByName