Text function
Excel PROPER function
PROPER capitalizes the first letter of every word and makes the rest lowercase. It is the quickest way to clean up names, cities, and street addresses typed in all caps or all lowercase.
=PROPER(text)Arguments
text- The text or cell to convert to title case.
PROPER examples
Every result below was calculated live from this sample sheet.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name | Street | City |
| 2 | JOHN SMITH | 42 OAK STREET | new york |
| 3 | mary-kate olsen | 7 elm ave | SAN DIEGO |
| 4 | sean mcdonald | 1600 pine rd | boston |
Result: John Smith
Turns an all-caps name into "John Smith".
Result: New York
Fixes a lowercase city: "New York".
Result: Mary-Kate Olsen
Letters after a hyphen are capitalized too: "Mary-Kate Olsen".
Result: Sean Mcdonald
PROPER cannot know about name rules, so you get "Sean Mcdonald", not McDonald.
How to use PROPER
- Click an empty cell next to your data.
- Type =PROPER( and select the cell.
- Close the bracket and copy it down.
- Check names like McDonald or O'Neil by hand.
Common PROPER mistakes
Trusting it with every name
PROPER gives "Mcdonald" and "Van Der Berg". Review surnames and fix exceptions manually.
Apostrophes
Excel capitalizes after an apostrophe, so "o'neil" becomes "O'Neil" but "don't" becomes "Don'T". Avoid PROPER on sentences.
Forgetting extra spaces
Combine with TRIM to clean both case and spacing: =PROPER(TRIM(A2)).
PROPER FAQ
How do I capitalize the first letter of each word in Excel?
Use =PROPER(A2). It uppercases the first letter of each word and lowercases the rest.
How do I capitalize only the first letter of a sentence in Excel?
PROPER capitalizes every word. For sentence case use =UPPER(LEFT(A2,1))&LOWER(MID(A2,2,1000)).
Why does PROPER capitalize letters after numbers?
PROPER treats any non-letter as a word break, so "2nd" becomes "2Nd". Fix those cases with SUBSTITUTE or by hand.
Practice PROPER in these lessons
Guides that use PROPER
Related functions
Updated 2026-10-31