Split a full name into first and last
Extracting part of a text value — the task behind most spreadsheet cleanup work.
The data
| Row number | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full name | First | Last |
| 2 | Ava Bennett | ||
| 3 | Liam Okafor | ||
| 4 | Sofia Rossi | ||
| 5 | Noah Nguyen |
Your task
Put a formula in B2 that returns just the first name from A2 — everything before the space.
Your formula goes in B2
The checker compares your formula against the accepted answers — it does not run it. The expected result is shown with the solution so you can verify it in your own spreadsheet.
Why this is the right formula
The -1 in the LEFT form is the detail everybody gets wrong first: FIND returns the position OF the space, and you want everything before it, so you take one character fewer. TEXTBEFORE removes that off-by-one entirely, which is most of the reason it was added — at the cost of needing Microsoft 365.
Try next
Practise it on a full dataset
Free to use, share and republish — including commercially. Attribution isn't required, but it's what keeps these free to make, and there's one ready to paste below.
Questions
Does this actually run my formula?
The checker normalises case, spaces, argument separators and dollar-sign anchors, then compares your formula with a reviewed list of accepted answers. It does not evaluate the formula. Copy the data into your spreadsheet to verify the expected result independently.
Can a correct formula be rejected?
Yes. The accepted list includes several reviewed approaches, but cannot recognise every equivalent formula. Compare an unlisted solution with the expected result in your spreadsheet and use the page feedback if an accepted answer is missing.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no signup, no progress tracking and nothing stored — everything happens in your browser.