Free Name Splitter
Split a full name into first, middle and last name, one at a time or a whole list at once. Handles titles, suffixes and comma format, free and with no signup.
Enter a full name
Split any full name into first, middle and last, one at a time or a whole list at once. 100% in your browser: your names are never uploaded.
How it works
Pick a mode
Choose a single name, or bulk to split a whole list at once.
Enter the names
Type one full name, or paste a column of names, one per line.
Split
Get the first, middle and last name, titles and suffixes separated out.
Copy or export
Copy a part, copy the table as TSV, or download the CSV.
Split a full name into first and last name
A name splitter separates a full name into its parts: first name, last name, and anything in between. This tool reads the whole name and works out which token is which, so 'Mary Jane Watson' becomes first name Mary, middle name Jane, last name Watson.
It handles the awkward cases plain formulas miss. Two-word and particle surnames like 'van Beethoven', 'de la Cruz' and 'von Humboldt' are kept together as the last name. Names written 'Last, First' are detected by the comma and swapped back. Honorifics (Mr, Mrs, Dr, Prof) are pulled into a prefix, and generational or post-nominal suffixes (Jr, Sr, III, PhD, MD) into a suffix, so your first and last name fields stay clean.
Split names in a spreadsheet. Excel or Google Sheets
The usual way to split full names in Excel or Google Sheets is a formula (LEFT/RIGHT with FIND, or SPLIT) or Text to Columns. Both split purely on position or the space character, so a middle name, a two-word surname or a 'Last, First' entry quietly lands in the wrong column.
Skip the formulas: switch to bulk mode, paste your whole name column, and the tool splits every row correctly. Copy the result as TSV to paste straight into first / last columns, or download a CSV, no FIND, LEFT, RIGHT or Text to Columns required.
Clean your lead list before you personalize
First-name accuracy is what makes personalization work. If your merge tag pulls 'Dr. Maria' or 'van Beethoven' into the greeting, an outreach email opening with 'Hi {{first_name}}' instantly reads as automated, and gets ignored or marked as spam.
Split your list here first so every {{first_name}} is just the first name, then put it to work: build a sequence with the follow-up email generator or start from proven cold email templates.
First name and last name formula for Excel and Google Sheets
To pull the first name from a full name in cell A2, use =LEFT(A2, FIND(" ", A2) - 1). It behaves the same in Excel and Google Sheets. For the last name, the dependable approach grabs the final word: =TRIM(RIGHT(SUBSTITUTE(A2, " ", REPT(" ", 100)), 100)). On Microsoft 365 the newer functions are cleaner (=TEXTBEFORE(A2, " ") for the first name and =TEXTAFTER(A2, " ", -1) for the last) while in Google Sheets =INDEX(SPLIT(A2, " "), 1) returns the first name and a bare =SPLIT(A2, " ") spreads every part into its own column.
Every one of those formulas assumes a tidy 'First Last'. Give them a middle name, a particle surname like 'de la Cruz', a 'Smith, John' entry or a trailing 'Jr.' and they quietly drop the wrong text into the wrong cell. For 'Mary Jane Watson' the last-word formula returns Watson correctly, but the common 'everything after the first space' last-name formula returns 'Jane Watson'. When a column has any of those, paste it into the tool above instead: it parses each name and hands back clean First / Middle / Last columns with nothing to babysit.
Tricky names: two-word surnames, Last-First and suffixes
The parser is built for the exact cases a plain split gets wrong. 'Dr. Maria de la Cruz Jr.' comes back as prefix Dr., first name Maria, last name de la Cruz and suffix Jr. 'Smith, John' is recognized as a Last, First entry and flips to first name John, last name Smith. 'Ludwig van Beethoven' keeps the particle attached, so the last name is van Beethoven, not Beethoven on its own. Honorifics (Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr, Prof) and post-nominals (Jr, Sr, II, III, PhD, MD, Esq) are lifted into their own prefix and suffix fields so they never bleed into the first or last name.
One case worth knowing: a two-word surname with no particle, like 'Helena Bonham Carter', is read as first Helena, middle Bonham, last Carter, because nothing links the two surname words. There are two clean fixes. Hyphenate it ('Helena Bonham-Carter' is a single token that stays together as the last name. Or enter it as Last, First) 'Bonham Carter, Helena' pins everything before the comma as the surname and returns first Helena, last Bonham Carter. That Last, First format is the most reliable way to force any compound surname to stay intact, in single or bulk mode.
Get the split names into your spreadsheet or mail merge
Bulk mode gives you two ways out, and they suit different destinations. Copy as TSV puts the result on your clipboard tab-separated, so pasting into Excel or Google Sheets drops each part straight into its own column with no import dialog. Download CSV saves a file with Prefix, First, Middle, Last and Suffix headers, ready to import into a CRM or a mail-merge tool. Both keep the original spelling and capitalization of every name, the tool separates the parts, it does not rewrite them.
The whole point of splitting is a clean merge field. Map your {{first_name}} tag to the First column only (not the full name, and not First plus Middle) so a greeting renders "Hi Maria," instead of "Hi Dr. Maria de la Cruz." Once the first and last names are clean they are ready to become verified addresses with the email finder, or to sanity-check an existing list with the email verifier before you send. Rows that arrived with an address but no name at all run the other way: an email address lookup reads the local part back into a likely first and last name, which you can then split here like any other row.
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Common questions about splitting names
How do I split a full name into first and last name?
Paste the full name into the tool and it instantly separates the first and last name (plus any middle name, title or suffix). For a whole column of names, switch to bulk mode, paste one name per line, and download the split first / last columns as a CSV.
How does the tool handle middle names, two-word last names and 'Last, First'?
A middle name is anything between the first and last name. Two-word or particle surnames like 'van Beethoven', 'de la Cruz' or 'von Trapp' are kept together as the last name. And when a name is written 'Smith, John' the tool detects the comma and swaps it back to first name John, last name Smith.
Can I split a whole list or CSV of names at once?
Yes. Switch to bulk mode, paste one full name per line (up to 10,000), and the tool returns a first / middle / last table. Copy it as TSV straight into a spreadsheet, or download it as a CSV. It's the fast way to split a name column without writing formulas.
How do I split names in Excel or Google Sheets?
The classic way is a formula or Text to Columns, which breaks on middle names and two-word surnames. Instead, paste your name column here, let the tool split it correctly, then copy the first / last columns back into your sheet, no formula required.
Does it handle titles like Dr. and suffixes like Jr. or PhD?
Yes. Leading honorifics (Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr, Prof) are pulled into a prefix field, and trailing suffixes (Jr, Sr, II, III, IV, PhD, MD) into a suffix field, so they never get mixed into the first or last name.
Is my list of names uploaded anywhere?
No. The entire tool runs in your browser with JavaScript, your names are never sent to a server, uploaded or stored. You can even use it offline once the page has loaded.
What formula splits a full name into first and last name?
In Excel or Google Sheets, =LEFT(A2, FIND(" ", A2) - 1) returns the first name, and =TRIM(RIGHT(SUBSTITUTE(A2, " ", REPT(" ", 100)), 100)) returns the last word as the last name. On Microsoft 365 you can use =TEXTBEFORE(A2, " ") and =TEXTAFTER(A2, " ", -1) instead. All of these break on middle names, 'Last, First' entries and particle surnames, which is exactly what the tool above handles for you.
How do I keep a two-word last name like 'de la Cruz' together?
Particle surnames (van, von, de, del, della, da, la, du, mac, mc, o' and similar) are automatically attached to the last name, so 'Ludwig van Beethoven' returns a last name of van Beethoven. For a compound surname with no particle, such as 'Bonham Carter', hyphenate it or enter it as 'Bonham Carter, Helena' so everything before the comma is kept as the surname.
Why did part of the last name end up in the middle name column?
That happens when a surname is two separate words with no linking particle, like 'Helena Bonham Carter', the parser reads Bonham as a middle name and Carter as the last name. Fix it by hyphenating the surname, or by entering the name in 'Last, First' format ('Bonham Carter, Helena'), both of which keep the full surname in the last-name column.
Does the name splitter change how names are capitalized?
No. It separates a full name into parts but preserves the exact spelling and capitalization you enter, so an ALL-CAPS or lower-case name comes back the same way. If you need consistent casing for a mail merge, apply a PROPER() formula or your CRM's own formatting after you split.
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