

Generally, you use the LEFT function to extract the first letter of the forename, and then concatenate it with the surname separated by a space character.
#MERGING CELLS IN EXCEL FIRST NAME LAST NAME HOW TO#
This example shows how to combine two names into one in Excel and convert a full name into a short name. This will prevent the appearance of extra spaces between words in rows where a middle name is missing:įormula 4. In situation when column B may or may not contain a middle name, you can handle each case individually, and then combine two formulas into one with the help of an IF statement: The screenshot below shows the first formula in action: Technically, you just add one more argument to the already familiar formulas to merge the middle name.Īssuming the first name is in A2, middle name in B2, and last name in C2, the following formulas will work a treat: In the generic form, here are the formulas to combine first and last name in Excel:ĬONCATENATE( first_name_cell," ", middle_name_cell," ", last_name_cell) Let's say, in your worksheet, you have one column for given name and another column for surname and now you want to join these two columns into one. Whenever you need to merge first and last names together in one cell, the fastest way is to concatenate two cells by using the ampersand operator (&) or the CONCATENATE function as shown in the below examples.

Combine first and last name separated by space.How to combine names in Excel with formulas.Below you will find some quick tricks to join names in Excel that will save you a lot of boring time. Luckily, the days of merging anything manually are over. In most situations, first and last names are stored in two separate columns, but occasionally you may need to combine two names in one cell. This tutorial is going to show you a few different ways to combine names in Excel: formulas, Flash Fill and the Merge Cells tool.Įxcel worksheets are often used for storing data about different groups of people - customers, students, employees, and so on.
