JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground

HTML

<span class="name">SOMEUSERNAME<span class="meta">20 friends</span></span>
<span class="name">SOMEUSERNAME2<span class="meta">20 friends</span></span>
<span class="name">SOMEUSERNAME3<span class="meta">20 friends</span></span>

JavaScript

var users = $.map($('.name'), function(el) {
    return el.firstChild.nodeValue;
});

console.log(users);