Capitalizing the First Letter of a Cell

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 29, 2025)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365

Georgia has a column of text values extending over thousands of rows. She would like to change the capitalization of the text so that only the first letter of each cell is capitalized.

Assuming that the column, indeed, only contains text values, then you can use the following formula:

=UPPER(LEFT(A1)) & LOWER(MID(A1,2,LEN(A1)-1))

This formula assumes that the text values are in column A. Copy the formula down for as many rows as needed, and you'll have your result. If you simply want to make sure that the first character is uppercase without changing the case of anything else in the cell, then this shorter version will work:

=UPPER(LEFT(A1)) & MID(A1,2,LEN(A1)-1)

If, instead, you want to capitalize the first letter of each word in the cell, then the formula is even simpler:

=PROPER(A1)

These formulas presume that you have a spare column available to house the formula. If you prefer to make your changes in-place, then you'll need to rely on a macro to do the work. Here's an example:

Sub UpperFirst()
    Dim c As Range
    Dim t As String

    For Each c In Selection
        If Not IsEmpty(c.Value) And VarType(c.Value) = vbString Then
            t = Trim(c.Value)
            c.Value = UCase(Left(t, 1) & LCase(Mid(t,2))
        End If
    Next c
End Sub

Select the cells you want to affect, then run the macro. It makes sure that the cell contains something and that the something is really a text string. Then, it capitalizes the first letter and makes sure the rest is lowercase. In the process, it also deletes any leading or trailing spaces in the cell.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (13952) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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