How to Capitalize Each Word in Excel

Fix ALL-CAPS and all-lowercase names with PROPER, then build tidy name badges and city lines for an event registration list.

You will learn to

• Capitalize the first letter of every word with PROPER
• Combine PROPER results into a badge line
• Mix PROPER and UPPER in one label

How it works

=PROPER(A2) capitalizes the first letter of every word and lowercases the rest, so "JAMES WHITFIELD" and "james whitfield" both become "James Whitfield". It is the quickest way to tidy names, cities and product titles that came from a web form.

PROPER treats any non-letter as a word break, so "o'brien" becomes "O'Brien" (good) but "2nd" becomes "2Nd" and "it's" becomes "It'S" (less good). Abbreviations such as state codes also lose their capitals, which is why you often combine PROPER with UPPER for those parts.

=PROPER(A2)