Combine first and last names - Help and How-to

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Combine first and last names

Applies to: Microsoft Office Excel 2003

Let's say you want to create a single Full Name column by combining two other columns, First Name and Last Name. To combine first and last names, use the CONCATENATE function or the ampersand (&) operator.

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

Show How to copy an example

Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
Select the example in the Help topic.
Note Do not select the row or column headers.

Selecting an example from Help
Press CTRL+C.
In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.

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A	B
First Name	Last Name
Nancy	Davolio
Andrew	Fuller
Formula	Description (Result)
=A2&" "&B2	Combines the names above, separated by a space (Nancy Davolio)
=B3&", "&A3	Combines the names above, separated by a comma (Fuller, Andrew)
=CONCATENATE(A2," ",B2)	Combines the names above, separated by a space (Nancy Davolio)

Note To replace the formula with the results, select the cells, click Copy Button image , click Paste , click Paste Options , and then click Values Only.

Function details

CONCATENATE