=A2&" "&B2 joins the first name in A2 and the last name in B2 with a space between them. The & operator glues text together, and the space in quotes is the text you add in the middle.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First | Last | Full name |
| 2 | Ana | Silva | Ana Silva |
| 3 | Ben | Okafor | Ben Okafor |
| 4 | Chen | Wu | Chen Wu |
| 5 | Dara | Kelly | Dara Kelly |
| 6 | Eli | Novak | Eli Novak |
Click C2 to see the formula, then change a first name in column A: the full name follows. The formula was written once in C2 and filled down, so C3 reads A3 and B3, C4 reads A4 and B4, and so on. To fill it in your own sheet, double-click the fill handle, the small square at the bottom-right corner of C2.
CONCATENATE, CONCAT and the & operator
Excel has three ways to join text and they give the same result on single cells:
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First | Last | Method | Result | |
| 2 | Ana | Silva | & | Ana Silva | |
| 3 | CONCATENATE | Ana Silva | |||
| 4 | CONCAT | Ana Silva |
&works in every version of Excel and in Google Sheets. It is the shortest to type.CONCATENATE(text1, text2, ...)is the original function. Microsoft keeps it for compatibility, and it takes up to 255 arguments.CONCAT(text1, text2, ...)replaced it in Excel 2019 and Microsoft 365. Its one real difference: it accepts ranges.
If a formula has to open in Excel 2016 or older, use & or CONCATENATE, because CONCAT shows #NAME? there.
Concatenate a range with CONCAT
=CONCAT(A2:A5) joins every cell of the range in order. CONCATENATE cannot do this: it wants each cell as its own argument, =CONCATENATE(A2,A3,A4,A5).
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Part | Code | |
| 2 | AX | AX42B7 | |
| 3 | 42 | AX42B7 | |
| 4 | B | AX42B7-2026 | |
| 5 | 7 | ||
| 6 | 2026 |
CONCAT puts nothing between the pieces. When you need a separator after every cell, such as a comma and a space, use TEXTJOIN, which takes the separator once and can skip empty cells.
Combine text and numbers
A number joins as its plain value, without the format you see in the cell. A price shown as $1,250.50 joins as 1250.5, and a date shown as 2026-03-15 joins as 46096, the serial number Excel stores for that date. Wrap the number in TEXT with a format code to keep it readable:
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Item | Price | Due | Label |
| 2 | Desk | $1,250.50 | 2026-03-15 | Price: 1250.5 |
| 3 | Price: $1,250.50 | |||
| 4 | Due 46096 | |||
| 5 | Due Mar 15, 2026 |
D2 and D4 show the raw values; D3 and D5 use TEXT and read the way the cells do. The format code goes in quotes and uses the same codes as Format Cells: "0.00", "#,##0", "0%", "yyyy-mm-dd".
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Item | Price | Label |
| 2 | Desk | 1250.5 |
Your turn: In C2, build the label Desk costs $1,250.50 from A2 and B2, with the price as dollars and cents.
Add a line break, a comma or quotes
Anything in double quotes becomes part of the result, so =A2&", "&B2 gives Ana, Silva. Three special cases:
- A line break:
=A2&CHAR(10)&B2. The break only shows when the cell has Home > Wrap Text turned on; see line breaks in a cell. - A double quote: type it twice inside the quotes.
="Say ""hi"""givesSay "hi". - An empty cell: it joins as nothing, so
=A2&" "&B2with an empty B2 leaves a trailing space. TEXTJOIN withTRUEas its second argument skips empty cells.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First | Last | Directory name |
| 2 | Ana | Silva |
Your turn: In C2, write the name as Silva, Ana: last name, a comma and a space, then the first name.
Combine two columns without losing data
Merge & Center is the wrong tool for this: when you merge A2 and B2 it keeps only the value in A2 and deletes the other. Join the columns with a formula instead, then, if you want plain text that no longer depends on A and B:
- Select the column of formulas and copy it (Ctrl+C, Cmd+C on a Mac).
- Home > Paste > Paste Values. The formulas become their results.
- Now you can delete the original columns.
For a one-off job, Flash Fill also works: type the first full name by hand in C2, then select C3 and press Ctrl+E, or use Data > Flash Fill, and Excel fills the rest by copying the pattern. Flash Fill writes values, not formulas, so it does not update when a name changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between CONCAT and CONCATENATE in Excel?
Both join text. CONCAT (Excel 2019 and later) also accepts ranges, so =CONCAT(A2:A5) joins four cells, while CONCATENATE needs each cell listed: =CONCATENATE(A2,A3,A4,A5). CONCATENATE is kept for compatibility with old files.
How do I concatenate with a space in Excel?
Put the space in quotes between the cells: =A2&" "&B2 or =CONCAT(A2," ",B2). Without the " " the names run together, AnaSilva.
Why does a date turn into a number when I concatenate it?
Joining uses the value under the date, a serial number such as 46096, and drops the cell's format. Wrap the date in TEXT: ="Due "&TEXT(C2,"mmm d, yyyy").
How do I combine two columns in Excel without losing data?
Use a formula in a third column, =A2&" "&B2, and fill it down. Merge & Center keeps only the upper-left value, so it loses the second column. To keep the result without the formula, copy the column and use Home > Paste > Paste Values.
