How to Combine First and Last Name in Excel (4 ways)

First names in column A, last names in B. You want “Asha Rao” in column C.

1. The & formula (works everywhere)

=A2&" "&B2

The " " is the space between the names. Copy down. Double-click the fill handle to copy to the end of the data.

2. Last name first

=B2&", "&A2

Gives “Rao, Asha”.

3. With a middle name that is sometimes empty

Middle name in B, last in C. =A2&" "&B2&" "&C2 leaves a double space when B is empty. TEXTJOIN skips blanks:

=TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A2:C2)

Excel 2019 and later. More: TEXTJOIN.

4. Flash Fill (no formula)

1. In C2, type the full name yourself: Asha Rao.
2. Click C3 and press Ctrl+E.

Excel fills the rest by copying your pattern. The results are plain text, so they will not update if a name changes. See Flash Fill.

Fix the capitals at the same time

=PROPER(A2&" "&B2)

“asha RAO” becomes “Asha Rao”. See change case.

Remove extra spaces

Imported names often have trailing spaces: =TRIM(A2)&" "&TRIM(B2).

Keep the result, drop the formula

Copy column C › Ctrl+Alt+V › Values. Now you can delete A and B.

The reverse job: separate first and last name.