{"id":2970,"date":"2016-05-05T23:40:59","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T21:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/?p=2970"},"modified":"2024-04-10T22:38:06","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T20:38:06","slug":"split-first-last-name-using-excel-power-query","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/split-first-last-name-using-excel-power-query\/","title":{"rendered":"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There are times when you receive a data set of employee full names in one column and you want to separate the full name into first name and surname in separate columns.<\/p>\n<p>This is a common task and most people may refer to complex <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/top-excel-formulas-function-examples-to-get-better-at-microsoft-excel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"formulas\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">formulas<\/a> to do this and waste lots of time in the process.<\/p>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/installing-power-query-excel-2010\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Power Query<\/a>, you can split the full name that is\u00a0in one cell into separate columns with just a few mouse clicks.<\/p>\n<p>Here is how&#8230;<br \/>\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/F0w8xhZ83LY?rel=0 \" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"width: 0px;overflow: hidden;line-height: 0\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/MyExcelOnlinecomtutorials?sub_confirmation=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignmiddle wp-image-111468 size-full\" style=\"vertical-align: middle\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/1.yt_.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/a><br \/>\n<a class=\"IRPP_minimalist icon-download\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Split-Columns-First-Last-Name.xlsx\" target=\"_blank\"><span class=\"ctaText px-3 text-capitalize\">Download excel workbook<\/span><span class=\"postTitle px-3\">Split-Columns-First-Last-Name.xlsx<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><strong>STEP 1:<\/strong><\/span> Click in your data and turn it into an Excel Table by pressing the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/333-excel-shortcuts-for-windows-and-mac\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"shortcut\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">shortcut<\/a> <strong>CTRL+T or by going to Insert Table<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/excel-table.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2971\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/excel-table.jpg\" alt=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" width=\"451\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/excel-table.jpg 451w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/excel-table-300x246.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 451px) 100vw, 451px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><strong>STEP 2:<\/strong><\/span> Go to <em><strong>Power Query &gt; From Table<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/power-query-from-table.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2972\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/power-query-from-table.jpg\" alt=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" width=\"615\" height=\"121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/power-query-from-table.jpg 615w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/power-query-from-table-300x59.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><strong>STEP 3:<\/strong> <\/span>This will open up the Power Query Editor. \u00a0Within here you need to select <em><strong>Home &gt; Split Columns &gt; By Delimiter<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/split-column-by-delimietr.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2973\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/split-column-by-delimietr.jpg\" alt=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" width=\"805\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/split-column-by-delimietr.jpg 805w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/split-column-by-delimietr-300x56.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/split-column-by-delimietr-768x143.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 805px) 100vw, 805px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><strong>STEP 4:<\/strong> <\/span>This will open up the Split Column by Delimiter dialogue box.<\/p>\n<p>In the drop down box under <strong><em>Select or enter delimiter<\/em><\/strong> you need to choose <strong>Space<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/space-delimiter.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2974\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/space-delimiter.jpg\" alt=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" width=\"695\" height=\"325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/space-delimiter.jpg 695w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/space-delimiter-300x140.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 695px) 100vw, 695px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><strong>STEP 5:<\/strong><\/span> For the <strong><em>Split<\/em> <\/strong>option, you need to select the default<em><strong> At each occurrence of the delimiter<\/strong> (since there is only one space in each cell&#8217;s data)<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>and press<strong> OK\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/aplit-at-each-occurrence.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2975\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/aplit-at-each-occurrence.jpg\" alt=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" width=\"695\" height=\"325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/aplit-at-each-occurrence.jpg 695w, https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/aplit-at-each-occurrence-300x140.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 695px) 100vw, 695px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This will <strong>split the\u00a0full <a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/blog\/combine-first-and-last-names\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">name<\/a> into two separate columns<\/strong>, one for the first name called <em>FULL NAME.1<\/em> and another for the surname called\u00a0<em>FULL NAME.2<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/split-columns.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2977\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/split-columns.jpg\" alt=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" width=\"260\" height=\"248\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><strong>STEP 6:<\/strong><\/span> Now all you need to do is press <strong>Close &amp; Load<\/strong> from the Home tab and this will <strong>open up a brand new worksheet<\/strong> in your Excel workbook with the split columns<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/close-load.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2976\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/close-load.jpg\" alt=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" width=\"114\" height=\"118\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>You can amend the column headings and here you have your full name split into separate columns&#8230;Easy hey!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/new-columns.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2978\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/new-columns.jpg\" alt=\"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query\" width=\"220\" height=\"233\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/100.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2964 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/728x90.gif\" alt=\"PIVOT BANNER\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" title=\"\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are times when you receive a data set of employee full names in one column and you want to separate the full name into first name and surname in separate columns. This is a common task and most people may refer to complex formulas to do this and waste lots of time in the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cos_headline_score":0,"cos_seo_score":0,"cos_headline_text":"Split First &amp; Last Name Using Power Query","cos_headline_has_been_analyzed":false,"cos_last_analyzed_headline":[],"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[120,121],"tags":[117,125],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2970"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myexcelonline.com\/meo-staging\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}