If you have a list of names in Excel, with first and last names separated by a comma, you can use an Excel feature to split the first and last names into separate columns.
Select the List
To start, select the cells that contain the names.
On the Ribbon in Excel 2007, click the Data tab, then click Text to Columns.
If you're using an earlier version of Excel, click the Data menu, then click Text to Columns.
The Convert Text To Columns Wizard
The Convert Text to Columns Wizard opens, and you can select the type of data that you want to convert.
Note: The wizard layout varies slightly in different versions of Excel, but the steps are the same.
- The list in this example uses a comma to separate the names, so select Delimited, then click Next.
- Next, add a check mark to the delimiter that's used in your text. You can select more than one, but in this example only Comma is required. We only want to split first and last names were the comma is inserted.
- Click Next, to go to Step 3.
- Select a destination cell, where you want the split text to start. The default setting is to overwrite the existing data, so if you want to keep it, select a different cell as the destination.
- Click Finish, and the data is split into separate columns.
Other Methods For Splitting Data
This method is quick and easy, and perfect for a one time event, such as importing a list of names, and splitting it.
However, if the names will change frequently, you could use a formula to split the names, instead of the Text to Columns feature. Then the first and last name columns will automatically update, if the full name changes.
Chip Pearson has sample formulas for Extracting First and Last Names, and VBA code for splitting data.