Get Initials from a Name

Excel Formulas › Text

All versionsLEFTMIDFIND

To turn Maria Lopez into ML — for avatars, IDs, or compact labels — grab the first letter of each word. For two-word names it’s a short LEFT/MID formula; for any number of words, Excel 365 does it in one.

Quick formula: for a two-word name in A2:
=LEFT(A2,1) & MID(A2, FIND(" ",A2)+1, 1)
Take the first letter, then the first letter after the space — the two initials, joined.

Functions used (tap for the full reference guide):

LEFTMIDFINDTEXTSPLIT

The example

Initials from full names.

AB
1NameInitials
2Maria LopezML
3Devon SmithDS

The formula

Two-word initials:

=LEFT(A2,1) & MID(A2, FIND(" ",A2)+1, 1) // "Maria Lopez" → "ML"

How it works

Pick the first letter of each part:

  1. LEFT(A2, 1) takes the first letter of the first name.
  2. FIND(" ", A2)+1 is the position right after the space — the start of the last name.
  3. MID(A2, …, 1) grabs that first letter of the last name.
  4. The & joins them into the initials. Add UPPER() around it if names might be lowercase.

Any number of names (Excel 365): =TEXTJOIN("",1, LEFT(TEXTSPLIT(A2," "), 1)) takes the first letter of every word — so “Mary Jane Watson” becomes “MJW.”

Try it: interactive demo

Live demo

Type a name; see its initials (first letter of each word).

Initials:

Variations

All words (Excel 365)

First letter of every word:

=TEXTJOIN("",1, LEFT(TEXTSPLIT(A2," "), 1))

With dots and spaces

“M.L.” format:

=LEFT(A2,1) & "." & MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,1) & "."

Force uppercase

Tidy lowercase input:

=UPPER(LEFT(A2,1) & MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,1))

Pitfalls & errors

Single-word names error. No space means FIND fails. Guard with IFERROR, or use the 365 TEXTSPLIT version which handles any count.

Extra spaces shift the result. TRIM the name first if pasted data has double spaces.

Middle names. The two-word formula ignores them; the TEXTSPLIT version includes every word’s initial.

Practice workbook

📊
Download the free Get Initials from a Name practice workbook
Names with the live LEFT/MID initials formula, the all-words 365 and dotted variants, plus 4 challenges with answers. No sign-up required.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get initials from a name in Excel?
For two-word names use =LEFT(A2,1)&MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,1). In Excel 365, =TEXTJOIN("",1, LEFT(TEXTSPLIT(A2," "),1)) handles any number of words.
How do I get initials for names with middle names?
Use the 365 formula =TEXTJOIN("",1, LEFT(TEXTSPLIT(A2," "),1)), which takes the first letter of every word, so Mary Jane Watson becomes MJW.
How do I make the initials uppercase?
Wrap the formula in UPPER, e.g. =UPPER(LEFT(A2,1)&MID(A2,FIND(" ",A2)+1,1)).

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Related formulas: Extract first & last name · Capitalize names (proper case) · Extract the Nth word

Function references: LEFT · MID · FIND · TEXTSPLIT