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How to generate initials from a name in Excel and Google Sheets
Topic:Text manipulationExcel & Google Sheets
=LEFT(A2,1)&MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,1)✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| Full Name | Initials |
| Jane Smith | JS |
| Alan Turing | AT |
| Marie Curie | MC |
| John von Neumann | JN |
=LEFT(A2,1)&MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,1)→JS
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Step by step
- 1Ensure your name data is in a single cell (e.g., 'Jane Smith' in A2).
- 2Enter =LEFT(A2,1)&MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,1) in the result cell.
- 3LEFT(A2,1) extracts the first letter; FIND(" ",A2)+1 locates the character after the space; MID grabs the first letter of the last name.
- 4To get uppercase initials, wrap the whole formula: =UPPER(LEFT(A2,1)&MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,1)).
- 5Press Enter and copy the formula down for all rows.
Tips
- For three-part names (First Middle Last), chain a second MID using FIND to locate the second space. Alternatively, use a helper column to split names first.
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Frequently asked
What if the name has only one word and no space?
FIND will return a #VALUE! error if there is no space. Wrap with IFERROR: =IFERROR(LEFT(A2,1)&MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,1), LEFT(A2,1)) to fall back to just the first letter.
How do I add a period between initials?
Insert a period in the concatenation: =UPPER(LEFT(A2,1))&"."&UPPER(MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,1))&"." to produce 'J.S.'.
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How-toHow to extract the domain from an email address
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Get the first name from a full name with LEFT and FIND, splitting on the first space. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.
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