Hi Kathy,
To remove the middle initial from the end of the name, you can use the
and
functions in Excel. Here are the steps:
- Assuming the name is in cell A1, create a new column next to it by right-clicking on the column header and selecting "Insert."
- In the new column, enter the following formula in the first row:
Code:
=LEFT(A1,FIND(",",A1)-1)
- Press Enter to apply the formula. This will extract the last name and first name from the original cell, up to the comma.
- Copy the formula down to the rest of the rows in the column by clicking on the bottom right corner of the cell and dragging it down.
- The new column should now contain the last name and first name without the middle initial.
If there are cases where there is a suffix like "Jr." at the end of the name, you can modify the formula to remove it as well. For example, if the suffix is always two characters, you can use the following formula instead:
Code:
=LEFT(A1,FIND(",",A1)-3)