How to Capitalize the First Letter in Google Sheets
Use =PROPER(A2) to capitalize the first letter of every word. To capitalize only the very first letter, combine UPPER with the rest of the text.
=PROPER(A2)
PROPER upper-cases the first letter of each word: john smith becomes John Smith.
How it works
PROPER converts text to title case, which is ideal for names. When you only want the first letter of the whole string capitalized and the rest left as typed, combine UPPER on the first character with the remainder via LEFT, RIGHT and LEN. UPPER and LOWER convert the entire string if you need all caps or all lowercase.
Variations
Capitalize only the first letter of a sentence
=UPPER(LEFT(A2,1))&RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-1)
Upper-cases the first character and appends the rest unchanged.
All uppercase
=UPPER(A2)
Turns the whole value into capitals.
All lowercase
=LOWER(A2)
Useful before matching or deduping so case doesn't matter.
Examples
| Scenario | Formula |
|---|---|
| Clean up a list of names | =PROPER(A2) |
| Sentence case for a description | =UPPER(LEFT(A2,1))&RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-1) |
FAQ
Why does PROPER capitalize letters after apostrophes or hyphens?
PROPER treats any non-letter as a word break, so O'brien becomes O'Brien. Fix exceptions manually or with SUBSTITUTE.
How do I capitalize just the first letter, not every word?
Use =UPPER(LEFT(A2,1))&RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2)-1).
How do I make everything uppercase?
Use =UPPER(A2); for lowercase use =LOWER(A2).
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