EDUCBA Logo

EDUCBA

MENUMENU
  • Explore
    • EDUCBA Pro
    • PRO Bundles
    • Featured Skills
    • New & Trending
    • Fresh Entries
    • Finance
    • Data Science
    • Programming and Dev
    • Excel
    • Marketing
    • HR
    • PDP
    • VFX and Design
    • Project Management
    • Exam Prep
    • All Courses
  • Blog
  • Enterprise
  • Free Courses
  • Log in
  • Sign Up
Home Excel Excel Resources Excel Tools Name Box in Excel
 

Name Box in Excel

Madhuri Thakur
Article byMadhuri Thakur

Updated May 29, 2023

Name Box in Excel

 

 

Definition of Name Box in Excel

The box on the left side of the formula bar, which addresses the selected cell or group of cells in the spreadsheet, is called the Name box. In the below screenshot, highlighted with a red color box is the Name Box in Excel.

Watch our Demo Courses and Videos

Valuation, Hadoop, Excel, Mobile Apps, Web Development & many more.

name box in excel 1

This Name box helps to address the group of cells with a name instead of addressing rows and columns combination. This tutorial will cover creating a Name box and using it while working with data.

How to Give Name in Name Box?

Consider a small example of student data like the one below. In the below, screenshot Name box represents the selected cell A1.

name box in excel 1-1

Now we will select the student data from the table, excluding the header “Students”.

name box in excel 1-2

After selecting the data, go to the name box and type the name to name the data range. Here I am giving the data range name “Students”. After Inputting the name Press Enter Key, and it will create the name.

name box in excel 1-3

Now, whenever we want to select the student’s data range, we can select from the Name box drop down as below.

name box in excel 1-4

If we add the marks data of the students as below.

name box in excel 1-5

We already gave the name “students” to column A data. Still, we can give the name to the combined data of students and marks as “Smarks”.

name box in excel 1-6

How to Edit and Delete the Name of the Data Range?

We have seen how to give a name to the data range. Now, we will see how to edit and delete the name.

#1 – Edit the Name of the Data Range

In case we incorrectly input the name or want to change the name. We incorrectly gave the name “Smakrs” for the student data range, which should be “Smarks”. We will change the name from “Smakrs” to “Smarks.”

The name box does not have the option to edit the given name; we should change the name in “Name Manager” under the “Formulas” menu. Click on the “Name Manager” to view the available names.

Edit the Name of the Data Range - 1

Click on the option “Edit” at the top.

Edit the Name of the Data Range - 2

So that we will get the below “Edit Name” box.

Edit the Name of the Data Range - 3

Edit the name to “Smark” as required.

Edit the Name of the Data Range - 4

In case we want to increase or decrease the range of cells, we can change in “Refers to” option.

Edit the Name of the Data Range - 5

#2 – Deleting the Name of the Range

It is similar to how we edit the name. Click on the “Name Manager”. Select the name of the range which we want to delete. Click on the “Delete” option at the top.

Deleting the Name of the Range - 1

This is how we create, Edit, and Delete the Name in the name box.

How to Use the Name Box in Excel?

Let us understand how to use the name box with a few examples.

You can download this Name Box Excel Template here – Name Box Excel Template

Example  #1 – Count Formula with Name Box

Suppose we want to count the students from the student’s table. We can use the count formula with the name of the range. Select the name and close the formula. In the below screenshot, we input only the half name of the range then the system displays the name automatically.

Count Formula with Name Box - 1

Below you can see the output.

Count Formula with Name Box - 2

As the number of students is five, it should display 5. Remember, it is not COUNT; it is the COUNTA formula.

counta excel 3

Example #2 – SUM with the Name Box

Now we will see how to perform the SUM operation using the name feature. Our task is, to sum up the marks of all the students. In the SUM formula, we will give the range name “Smarks”, which we created earlier, instead of the range B2 to B6.

SUM with the Name Box - 1

After using the formula, the output is shown below.

SUM with the Name Box - 2

So, to replace the range address, we can use the range’s name. The name range will also pop up if we input the first few letters of the name range.

Example 3 – VLOOKUP with Name Box

We have to perform VLOOKUP for Table B to find the marks from Table A.

VLOOKUP with Name Box - 1

Create a name “Sdata” for data in Table A as below.

VLOOKUP with Name Box - 2

Now input the VLOOKUP Formula in Table B.

VLOOKUP with Name Box - 3

Once you select the “lookup_value” as E3, give the table array as “Sdata”, which is the name of the data range from Table A as the range has 2 columns, input column index as 2, then input zero(for True).

VLOOKUP with Name Box - 4

Expand the formula to get marks for other students.

Example #4 – Excel Name for Constant

We can use the Excel name feature for creating constants, also. We will see one example of this to understand in a better way. Consider a table having data on the number of hours of employees as below.

Excel Name for Constant - 1

The charge per hour will be 20 rupees. So, we will create a constant with the value 20. Click on the Name Formulas menu.

Click on the Name Manager, and the below window will appear.

Excel Name for Constant - 2

Click the “New” option to take you to the screen below.

Excel Name for Constant - 3

Give the name as Rate 20, and in “Refers to,” give constant value 20 as below and click on OK.

Rate 20

Now go to our table and input the formula for multiplication using the name constant. Start the formula with the Equal symbol and select the number of hours option.

input the formula

Add a Multiplication symbol.

Multiplication symbol

Now give the constant name we created.

Constant Name

Select the Rate20 and Press Enter Key. It will multiply the number of hours by 20.

Multiply the Number

Drag the formula from cell B2 to B5.

Drag the Formuila

Things to Remember About Name Box in Excel

  • While giving the name for a range, ensure there should not be any spaces as it will not take if we input any spaces in between.
  • Don’t include punctuation in the name.
  • The name will be case sensitive; hence, whether we give the name “Hai” or “hai” will be the same. While calling the range, you can use any case letters.
  • The name should start with a letter or Backslash “\” or Underscore “_”. Other than these, if the name starts with any other letter, Excel will throw you an error.
  • The name can be applicable at the sheet or workbook levels; it depends on our selection while creating the name in the name manager.
  • The name should be unique, as it will not allow duplicate values.
  • The name can be a single character Eg: “A”.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to Name Box in Excel. Here we discuss how to use the Name Box in Excel, practical examples, and a downloadable Excel template. You can also go through our other suggested articles –

  1. Count Names in Excel
  2. Excel Named Range
  3. VBA Name
  4. Combine First and Last Name in Excel

Primary Sidebar

Footer

Follow us!
  • EDUCBA FacebookEDUCBA TwitterEDUCBA LinkedINEDUCBA Instagram
  • EDUCBA YoutubeEDUCBA CourseraEDUCBA Udemy
APPS
EDUCBA Android AppEDUCBA iOS App
Blog
  • Blog
  • Free Tutorials
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Log in
Courses
  • Enterprise Solutions
  • Free Courses
  • Explore Programs
  • All Courses
  • All in One Bundles
  • Sign up
Email
  • [email protected]

ISO 10004:2018 & ISO 9001:2015 Certified

© 2025 - EDUCBA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE CERTIFICATION NAMES ARE THE TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

EDUCBA

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you
Loading . . .
Quiz
Question:

Answer:

Quiz Result
Total QuestionsCorrect AnswersWrong AnswersPercentage

Explore 1000+ varieties of Mock tests View more

EDUCBA

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you
EDUCBA
Free Excel Course

Excel functions, formula, charts, formatting creating excel dashboard & others

By continuing above step, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you
EDUCBA

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you

EDUCBA

Download Name Box Excel Template

EDUCBA Login

Forgot Password?

EDUCBA

Download Name Box Excel Template

EDUCBA

डाउनलोड Name Box Excel Template

🚀 Limited Time Offer! - 🎁 ENROLL NOW