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How to extract the username from an email in Excel and Google Sheets
Topic:Text manipulationExcel & Google Sheets
=LEFT(A2,FIND("@",A2)-1)✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| alice@example.com |
| bob.smith@company.org |
| carol@domain.net |
| david.j@mail.co |
=LEFT(A2,FIND("@",A2)-1)→alice
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Step by step
- 1Put your email addresses in column A.
- 2In the result column type =LEFT(A2,FIND("@",A2)-1).
- 3FIND("@",A2) returns the position of the @ sign.
- 4Subtracting 1 excludes the @ itself, and LEFT extracts exactly that many characters from the start.
- 5Copy the formula down for all rows.
Tips
- To also extract the domain (part after @), use =MID(A2,FIND("@",A2)+1,LEN(A2)) in an adjacent column.
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Frequently asked
What if a cell doesn't contain an @ sign?
FIND returns #VALUE! — wrap in IFERROR(LEFT(A2,FIND("@",A2)-1),A2) to return the original text when @ is missing.
Does this work for subaddressed emails like alice+promo@example.com?
Yes — the formula returns 'alice+promo' as the username, which is correct. Strip the plus portion separately if needed.
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