diff --git a/src/app/api/campaigns/route.ts b/src/app/api/campaigns/route.ts
index 16f08e8..84f8354 100644
--- a/src/app/api/campaigns/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/campaigns/route.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from 'next/server';
 import { z } from 'zod';
 import { nanoid } from 'nanoid';
 import { requireAuth, AuthorizationError } from '@/lib/authorization';
+import { applyVariables } from '@/lib/templateSubstitution';
 import {
   createCampaign,
   bulkCreateQueueEntries,
@@ -82,19 +83,11 @@ export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
 
     // Create queue entries for all recipients
     const queueEntries = validatedData.recipients.map((recipient) => {
-      // Simple variable replacement for subject and body
-      let subject = validatedData.subject;
-      let bodyHtml = validatedData.bodyHtml || '';
-      let bodyText = validatedData.bodyText;
-
-      if (recipient.variables) {
-        Object.entries(recipient.variables).forEach(([key, value]) => {
-          const placeholder = new RegExp(`\\{\\{${key}\\}\\}`, 'g');
-          subject = subject.replace(placeholder, value);
-          bodyHtml = bodyHtml.replace(placeholder, value);
-          bodyText = bodyText.replace(placeholder, value);
-        });
-      }
+      const subject = applyVariables(validatedData.subject, recipient.variables);
+      const bodyHtml = validatedData.bodyHtml
+        ? applyVariables(validatedData.bodyHtml, recipient.variables)
+        : '';
+      const bodyText = applyVariables(validatedData.bodyText, recipient.variables);
 
       // Generate unique tracking ID
       const trackingId = nanoid();
diff --git a/src/lib/recipientParser.ts b/src/lib/recipientParser.ts
index 4fcda67..96de4b1 100644
--- a/src/lib/recipientParser.ts
+++ b/src/lib/recipientParser.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,16 @@
 export type ParsedRecipient = {
   email: string
   name?: string
+  /**
+   * Default per-recipient template variables. Always includes `email`. Adds
+   * `first_name` / `last_name` when an angle-format name was supplied; falls
+   * back to a title-cased email local-part for `first_name` so that templates
+   * like "Hi {{first_name}}," never render with literal braces.
+   *
+   * The campaign API also accepts caller-supplied variables (e.g. from a CSV
+   * import) and these defaults can be overridden per-recipient.
+   */
+  variables: Record<string, string>
 }
 
 export type RecipientParseResult = {
@@ -44,12 +54,50 @@ export function parseRecipients(input: string): RecipientParseResult {
     if (seen.has(key)) continue
     seen.add(key)
 
-    recipients.push(name ? { email, name } : { email })
+    const variables = deriveVariables({ email, name })
+    recipients.push(name ? { email, name, variables } : { email, variables })
   }
 
   return { recipients, invalid }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Derive default template variables for a recipient. Pure function — exposed
+ * so callers (CSV importers, API clients) can use the same conventions.
+ */
+export function deriveVariables({
+  email,
+  name,
+}: {
+  email: string
+  name?: string
+}): Record<string, string> {
+  const vars: Record<string, string> = { email }
+
+  const nameParts = (name ?? '').split(/\s+/).filter((p) => p.length > 0)
+  if (nameParts.length > 0) {
+    vars.first_name = nameParts[0]
+    if (nameParts.length > 1) {
+      vars.last_name = nameParts.slice(1).join(' ')
+    }
+    return vars
+  }
+
+  // Fall back to a title-cased email local-part so a bare email like
+  // jane.doe@example.com still produces a usable {{first_name}}.
+  const localPart = email.split('@')[0] ?? ''
+  const firstChunk = localPart
+    .split(/[._\-+]/)
+    .map((s) => s.trim())
+    .filter((s) => s.length > 0)[0]
+  if (firstChunk) {
+    vars.first_name =
+      firstChunk.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + firstChunk.slice(1).toLowerCase()
+  }
+
+  return vars
+}
+
 function splitSegments(input: string): string[] {
   const segments: string[] = []
   let buf = ''
diff --git a/src/lib/templateSubstitution.ts b/src/lib/templateSubstitution.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f495bbb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/templateSubstitution.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+/**
+ * Template variable substitution.
+ *
+ * Replaces `{{name}}` placeholders in a string with values from a variables
+ * map. Pure: no I/O, no globals, no side effects on the input map.
+ *
+ * Behavior:
+ *   - Whitespace inside the braces is tolerated: `{{ first_name }}`.
+ *   - Unknown placeholders are left as-is so missing data doesn't silently
+ *     produce blank emails (the receiver sees `{{first_name}}`, not nothing).
+ *   - Empty-string variable values DO substitute (this is a deliberate
+ *     opt-in: callers can pass `''` to suppress a placeholder explicitly).
+ *   - The brace syntax is regex-safe: variables containing `$` are not
+ *     interpreted as backreferences during replacement.
+ */
+export function applyVariables(
+  template: string,
+  variables: Record<string, string> | undefined | null
+): string {
+  if (!template) return template
+  if (!variables) return template
+
+  return template.replace(/\{\{\s*([\w.-]+)\s*\}\}/g, (match, key: string) => {
+    if (Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(variables, key)) {
+      return variables[key]
+    }
+    return match
+  })
+}
diff --git a/tests/int/recipientParser.int.spec.ts b/tests/int/recipientParser.int.spec.ts
index 876ba95..5cda687 100644
--- a/tests/int/recipientParser.int.spec.ts
+++ b/tests/int/recipientParser.int.spec.ts
@@ -1,29 +1,27 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
-import { parseRecipients } from '@/lib/recipientParser'
+import { deriveVariables, parseRecipients } from '@/lib/recipientParser'
 
 describe('parseRecipients', () => {
   it('parses bare emails one per line', () => {
     const r = parseRecipients('alice@example.com\nbob@example.com')
-    expect(r.recipients).toEqual([
-      { email: 'alice@example.com' },
-      { email: 'bob@example.com' },
+    expect(r.recipients.map((p) => p.email)).toEqual([
+      'alice@example.com',
+      'bob@example.com',
     ])
     expect(r.invalid).toEqual([])
   })
 
   it('parses Name <email> angle format', () => {
     const r = parseRecipients('Alice Smith <alice@example.com>')
-    expect(r.recipients).toEqual([
-      { email: 'alice@example.com', name: 'Alice Smith' },
-    ])
+    expect(r.recipients).toHaveLength(1)
+    expect(r.recipients[0].email).toBe('alice@example.com')
+    expect(r.recipients[0].name).toBe('Alice Smith')
   })
 
   it('strips quotes around angle-format names', () => {
     const r = parseRecipients('"Alice, Q." <alice@example.com>')
-    expect(r.recipients[0]).toEqual({
-      email: 'alice@example.com',
-      name: 'Alice, Q.',
-    })
+    expect(r.recipients[0].email).toBe('alice@example.com')
+    expect(r.recipients[0].name).toBe('Alice, Q.')
   })
 
   it('accepts comma and semicolon separators in addition to newlines', () => {
@@ -59,7 +57,88 @@ describe('parseRecipients', () => {
 
   it('omits the name key entirely when angle name is empty', () => {
     const r = parseRecipients('   <alice@example.com>')
-    expect(r.recipients[0]).toEqual({ email: 'alice@example.com' })
+    expect(r.recipients[0].email).toBe('alice@example.com')
     expect('name' in r.recipients[0]).toBe(false)
   })
+
+  it('emits per-recipient default variables', () => {
+    const r = parseRecipients('Alice Smith <alice@example.com>\nbob@example.com')
+    expect(r.recipients[0].variables).toEqual({
+      email: 'alice@example.com',
+      first_name: 'Alice',
+      last_name: 'Smith',
+    })
+    expect(r.recipients[1].variables).toEqual({
+      email: 'bob@example.com',
+      first_name: 'Bob',
+    })
+  })
+})
+
+describe('deriveVariables', () => {
+  it('always includes the email address', () => {
+    expect(deriveVariables({ email: 'a@b.com' }).email).toBe('a@b.com')
+  })
+
+  it('splits a one-word name into first_name only', () => {
+    const v = deriveVariables({ email: 'a@b.com', name: 'Alice' })
+    expect(v.first_name).toBe('Alice')
+    expect('last_name' in v).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('splits a multi-word name into first_name and last_name', () => {
+    const v = deriveVariables({ email: 'a@b.com', name: 'Alice Smith' })
+    expect(v.first_name).toBe('Alice')
+    expect(v.last_name).toBe('Smith')
+  })
+
+  it('keeps multi-word last names intact', () => {
+    const v = deriveVariables({ email: 'a@b.com', name: 'Mary Jane Watson' })
+    expect(v.first_name).toBe('Mary')
+    expect(v.last_name).toBe('Jane Watson')
+  })
+
+  it('preserves casing in the source name verbatim', () => {
+    const v = deriveVariables({ email: 'a@b.com', name: 'al SMITH' })
+    expect(v.first_name).toBe('al')
+    expect(v.last_name).toBe('SMITH')
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to a title-cased email local-part when no name is given', () => {
+    expect(deriveVariables({ email: 'jane@example.com' }).first_name).toBe(
+      'Jane'
+    )
+    expect(deriveVariables({ email: 'jane.doe@example.com' }).first_name).toBe(
+      'Jane'
+    )
+    expect(deriveVariables({ email: 'JANE_DOE@example.com' }).first_name).toBe(
+      'Jane'
+    )
+    expect(
+      deriveVariables({ email: 'jane-doe+promo@example.com' }).first_name
+    ).toBe('Jane')
+  })
+
+  it('does not invent a last_name from the email local-part', () => {
+    expect('last_name' in deriveVariables({ email: 'jane.doe@example.com' })).toBe(
+      false
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('treats whitespace-only names as no name', () => {
+    const v = deriveVariables({ email: 'jane@example.com', name: '   ' })
+    expect(v.first_name).toBe('Jane')
+    expect('last_name' in v).toBe(false)
+  })
+
+  it('ignores empty name parts so multiple spaces dont break first_name', () => {
+    const v = deriveVariables({ email: 'a@b.com', name: '  Alice   Smith  ' })
+    expect(v.first_name).toBe('Alice')
+    expect(v.last_name).toBe('Smith')
+  })
+
+  it('handles an email with no local-part separator gracefully', () => {
+    const v = deriveVariables({ email: 'jane@example.com' })
+    expect(v.first_name).toBe('Jane')
+  })
 })
diff --git a/tests/int/templateSubstitution.int.spec.ts b/tests/int/templateSubstitution.int.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..242e943
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/int/templateSubstitution.int.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+import { applyVariables } from '@/lib/templateSubstitution'
+
+describe('applyVariables', () => {
+  it('replaces a single placeholder', () => {
+    expect(applyVariables('Hi {{first_name}}', { first_name: 'Alice' })).toBe(
+      'Hi Alice'
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('replaces multiple distinct placeholders in one pass', () => {
+    expect(
+      applyVariables('Hi {{first_name}} from {{company}}', {
+        first_name: 'Alice',
+        company: 'Acme',
+      })
+    ).toBe('Hi Alice from Acme')
+  })
+
+  it('replaces every occurrence of the same placeholder', () => {
+    expect(
+      applyVariables('{{first_name}} — yes, {{first_name}}', {
+        first_name: 'Alice',
+      })
+    ).toBe('Alice — yes, Alice')
+  })
+
+  it('tolerates whitespace inside the braces', () => {
+    expect(applyVariables('Hi {{ first_name }}', { first_name: 'Alice' })).toBe(
+      'Hi Alice'
+    )
+    expect(
+      applyVariables('Hi {{   first_name\t}}', { first_name: 'Alice' })
+    ).toBe('Hi Alice')
+  })
+
+  it('leaves unknown placeholders untouched (safer than blank)', () => {
+    expect(applyVariables('Hi {{first_name}} at {{company}}', { first_name: 'A' })).toBe(
+      'Hi A at {{company}}'
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('substitutes empty-string values explicitly (no fallback)', () => {
+    expect(applyVariables('Hi {{first_name}}!', { first_name: '' })).toBe(
+      'Hi !'
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('does not interpret $ in replacement values as backreferences', () => {
+    // The naive `.replace(regex, value)` path would treat `$&` etc. as
+    // backreferences. Confirm we are robust to user-supplied dollar signs.
+    expect(applyVariables('cost {{price}}', { price: '$5 + $&' })).toBe(
+      'cost $5 + $&'
+    )
+    expect(applyVariables('{{x}} {{x}}', { x: '$1' })).toBe('$1 $1')
+  })
+
+  it('returns the input unchanged when there are no placeholders', () => {
+    expect(applyVariables('plain text', { foo: 'bar' })).toBe('plain text')
+    expect(applyVariables('plain text', {})).toBe('plain text')
+  })
+
+  it('returns the input unchanged when variables is null/undefined', () => {
+    expect(applyVariables('Hi {{first_name}}', undefined)).toBe('Hi {{first_name}}')
+    expect(applyVariables('Hi {{first_name}}', null)).toBe('Hi {{first_name}}')
+  })
+
+  it('returns the input unchanged for empty/null template', () => {
+    expect(applyVariables('', { first_name: 'A' })).toBe('')
+  })
+
+  it('does not match single-brace placeholders', () => {
+    expect(applyVariables('Hi {first_name}', { first_name: 'A' })).toBe(
+      'Hi {first_name}'
+    )
+  })
+
+  it('does not match malformed multi-line braces', () => {
+    expect(
+      applyVariables('Hi {{first_\nname}}', { 'first_\nname': 'X' })
+    ).toBe('Hi {{first_\nname}}')
+  })
+
+  it('matches keys with dashes, dots, and digits', () => {
+    expect(
+      applyVariables('a {{first-name}} b {{co.name}} c {{x1}}', {
+        'first-name': 'Al',
+        'co.name': 'Acme',
+        x1: '42',
+      })
+    ).toBe('a Al b Acme c 42')
+  })
+
+  it('does not invent values from the prototype chain', () => {
+    expect(applyVariables('{{toString}}', {})).toBe('{{toString}}')
+    expect(applyVariables('{{constructor}}', {})).toBe('{{constructor}}')
+  })
+})