CURRENT STATE

The avatar_letter attribute shows the first two letters of a contact's name. This is an uncommon representation. Initials are typically composed of the first letter of a person's first name, plus the first letter of a person's last name.

DESIRED STATE

Display the first letter of a contact name, plus the first letter immediately following a space in the same contact's name.

This may not be perfect, but will work 99% of the time.