Excel names – how to name cells and ranges in Excel

In this weeks hint and tip we are going to be looking at the concept of Excel names. This concept is where you are able to name a cell or a range of cells to then use them within a formula or a calculation in an Excel spreadsheet. This is covered on our Basic Excel training course.

The video below is going to show you step by step how you would go about naming both a single cell and also a range of cells. There is also a bit of information about Data Validation within the video too!

Summary of Excel names from the video:

Naming a cell

1. Click on the cell that you want to name (in this example, G1).
2. Go to the name box above column A in your Excel spreadsheet.
3. Single click in the name box and name the cell (in this example, name it ‘increase’).
4. You can now use this named cell in your calculation.
5. To use it in your calculation, you can either click on the cell and it will put the name in to your calculation or you can type the name in yourself.

Naming a range of cells

1. Select the range of cells that you want to name (in this example, A2:B6).
2. Go to the name box above column A in your Excel spreadsheet.
3. Single click in the name box and name the range of cells (in this example, ‘vlookuptable’).
4. You can now use this named range in your formula.
5. To use it in your formula, you can either go to the worksheet it is in and select the cells and it will put the name in to your formula or you can type the name in yourself.

Editing a name (cell or range)

1. To do this, go to the Formulas Tab and select the ‘Name Manager’ button. Here you can edit or delete a named cell or range.

We hope you enjoyed this hint and tip on Excel names and how you actually go about naming cells within your spreadsheets! Why not take a look at our previous one on inserting a slide into a PowerPoint presentation?