How to Make the First Letter of Each Word Capital in Excel

Excel’s PROPER function capitalizes the first letter of words in text and lowercases many of the remaining letters.

Steps

1. If the original text is in A2, enter =PROPER(A2) in another cell.
2. Fill or copy the formula down the column.
3. Review names, acronyms, and special capitalization manually.
4. If you need to replace the originals, copy the results and use Paste Special > Values over the source only after verifying them.

PROPER is not linguistically perfect

Names such as McDonald, O’NEIL, iPhone, or abbreviations can require capitalization that PROPER does not understand. The function applies a mechanical text rule rather than recognizing names or brands.

Keep the original column until the transformed results have been checked. If you need title-case rules that preserve a custom list of exceptions, Power Query, formulas with substitutions, or a script may be more appropriate.

After making the change, test the specific result before doing more. For how to make first letter of each word capital in excel: a, keep the original settings or data available until you are satisfied the new configuration works as intended.

Check the result

Before finishing this make first letter of each word capital in excel task, review the changed setting and confirm that the resulting behavior matches what you intended. Leave unrelated settings alone while testing make first letter of each word capital in excel so the result can be traced to this change. If make first letter of each word capital in excel produces an unexpected result, undo the most recent change first and troubleshoot that symptom before making additional adjustments. Testing make first letter of each word capital in excel in isolation makes it easier to identify the cause without introducing a second problem.

Related: Cut a word in Excel.

Example results

Original (A2)	=PROPER(A2)
john smith	John Smith
NEW YORK CITY	New York City
mary-ann jones	Mary-Ann Jones
don’t stop	Don’T Stop
2nd street	2Nd Street

PROPER capitalizes any letter that follows a character that isn’t a letter, which is why apostrophes and numbers can produce odd results like “Don’T” and “2Nd”. Fix those few cells by hand, or wrap the formula in SUBSTITUTE, for example =SUBSTITUTE(PROPER(A2),"'T","'t").

Use Flash Fill instead of a formula

1. In the column next to your data, type the first entry the way you want it, such as “John Smith”.
2. Press Enter to move to the next cell.
3. Press Ctrl+E, or go to Data > Flash Fill.

Excel copies the pattern down the column as plain values, so there’s no formula to convert afterward. Check the results, because Flash Fill guesses from your example.

Capitalize only the first letter of a cell

For sentence case, where only the first letter of the cell is capital, use:

=UPPER(LEFT(A2,1))&LOWER(MID(A2,2,LEN(A2)))

This turns “HELLO WORLD” into “Hello world”.

Use Power Query for large or repeated cleanups

1. Select your data and choose Data > From Table/Range.
2. In the Power Query Editor, select the column.
3. Choose Transform > Format > Capitalize Each Word.
4. Click Close & Load.

When new rows are added later, refresh the query to apply the same change.

Related case functions

• =UPPER(A2) makes every letter capital. See how to make text uppercase in Excel.
• =LOWER(A2) makes every letter lowercase.
• Working in Word instead? See how to capitalize all letters in Word.

Related: Remove temporary Sheet Views in Excel.

Related: Add a word to all cells in Excel.

Frequently asked questions

Does Excel have a Change Case button like Word?

No. Excel uses functions, Flash Fill, or Power Query to change capitalization.

How do I keep the results but delete the original column?

Copy the formula results, right-click, choose Paste Special > Values, and then delete the original column.