How to extract the first name from a full name
✓ Verified in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3Pull just the first name out of a 'First Last' text string.
The formula
| App | Formula | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Excel | =LEFT(A2,FIND(" ",A2)-1) | FIND locates the first space; LEFT takes everything before it. |
| Google Sheets | =LEFT(A2,FIND(" ",A2)-1) | Identical. |
| LibreOffice Calc | =LEFT(A2,FIND(" ",A2)-1) | Identical. |
How it works
FIND(" ",A2) returns the position of the first space; subtracting 1 stops just before it, and LEFT returns that many characters from the start. For 'Jane Doe' the result is 'Jane'. Wrap in IFERROR to handle single-word names.
Verified, not just documented
We ran =LEFT(A2,FIND(" ",A2)-1) in LibreOffice 25.8.7.3 (headless, with forced recalculation) and it returned Jane — exactly the expected result. Every formula here is confirmed by actually executing it.