Extract last name with RIGHT and LEN
IntermediateLists of names, such as customer and employee lists often arrive with the full name stored in a single field. But many systems need first and last names separated before you can sort records, build mailing lists, or import clean data.
In this exercise, you are cleaning a customer import list. Column A contains full names in a simple First Last format, and your job is to return the last name in column C for each record.
To solve it, combine text functions so your formula locates the space in each name and then pulls the text that appears after it.
Your task
Fill cells C2:C15 with formulas that return the last name from each full name in A2:A15.
Need some help?
Hint 1
Think about the space as the separator between first and last name. Your formula needs to find that split point, then return the text on the right side of it.
Hint 2
A good combination to try here is RIGHT for returning the ending text, LEN for counting the full name length, and FIND for locating the space.
Hint 3
If your first attempt returns too many or too few letters, focus on the second argument of RIGHT. It should be the number of characters after the space, which you can get by comparing the full length of the name to the space position.
Extract last name with RIGHT and LEN
IntermediateLists of names, such as customer and employee lists often arrive with the full name stored in a single field. But many systems need first and last names separated before you can sort records, build mailing lists, or import clean data.
In this exercise, you are cleaning a customer import list. Column A contains full names in a simple First Last format, and your job is to return the last name in column C for each record.
To solve it, combine text functions so your formula locates the space in each name and then pulls the text that appears after it.
Your task
Fill cells C2:C15 with formulas that return the last name from each full name in A2:A15.
Need some help?
Hint 1
Think about the space as the separator between first and last name. Your formula needs to find that split point, then return the text on the right side of it.
Hint 2
A good combination to try here is RIGHT for returning the ending text, LEN for counting the full name length, and FIND for locating the space.
Hint 3
If your first attempt returns too many or too few letters, focus on the second argument of RIGHT. It should be the number of characters after the space, which you can get by comparing the full length of the name to the space position.