Hello, fellow spreadsheet enthusiasts! Are you tired of manually combining first and last names in Google Sheets? Well, fear not, because I am here to share with you a simple solution that will save you time and effort.
First things first, let me introduce you to the formula you need to use:
=A2&" "&B2
Let me break it down for you. The “&” sign is used to concatenate, or join, two pieces of text. In this case, we are joining the first name in cell A2 with a space and then the last name in cell B2. That’s it!
But wait, there’s more!
Now that you know the formula, you don’t have to manually type it for every single row in your spreadsheet. Instead, you can use the “auto fill” feature.
Simply select the cell where you entered the formula, hover your cursor over the bottom right corner until it turns into a plus sign, and drag it all the way down to the last row where you want the formula to be applied.
Voila! Google Sheets will automatically fill in the formula for you in all the cells in between. Pretty neat, huh?
Now, some of you might be thinking, “That’s great and all, but I already have a long list of names that I don’t want to manually apply this formula to.” Well, I’ve got you covered.
Instead of applying the formula to each cell, create a new column next to your existing column of first and last names. In the first cell of the new column, enter the formula there (using the cells in the adjacent columns), and auto fill it down for all the rows you want.
Now, select all the cells in the new column that contain the full names. Copy this data and paste it as “values only” in a new column. This will remove the formula and leave you with a column containing only the full names.
While the formula is pretty foolproof, it’s always a good idea to double check your work. Make sure that all the names are correctly combined and that there are no errors or typos.
This formula isn’t limited to just combining first and last names. You can use it to join any two pieces of text together.
For example, let’s say you have a spreadsheet of email addresses and you want to add the name of the person to whom the email belongs to each row. You can use this formula to combine the name from one column with the email address from another column.
And there you have it, folks! A simple and easy way to combine first and last names in Google Sheets.
Remember to use the formula, auto fill, and double check your work. And, as always, don’t be afraid to experiment with other applications for this formula. Who knows, maybe it will save you time and effort in ways you never imagined!
