Excel return sheet name

In this example, the goal is to return the name of the current worksheet (i.e. tab) in the current workbook with a formula. This is a simple problem in the latest version of Excel, which provides the TEXTAFTER function. In older versions of Excel, you can use an alternative formula based on the MID and FIND functions. Both formula options rely on the CELL function to get a full path to the current workbook. Read below for a full explanation.

Workbook path

The first step in this problem is to get the workbook path, which includes the workbook and worksheet name. This can be done with the CELL function like this:

CELL("filename",A1)

With the info_type argument set to «filename», and reference set to cell A1 in the current worksheet, the result from CELL is a full path as a text string like this:

"C:pathtofolder[workbook.xlsx]sheetname"

Notice the sheet name begins after the closing square bracket («]»). The problem now becomes how to extract the sheet name from the path? The best way to do this depends on your Excel version. Use the TEXTAFTER function if available. Otherwise, use the MID and FIND functions as explained below.

TEXTAFTER function

In Excel 365, the easiest option is to use the TEXTAFTER function with the CELL function like this:

=TEXTAFTER(CELL("filename",A1),"]")

The CELL function returns the full path to the current workbook as explained above, and this text string is delivered to TEXTAFTER as the text argument. Delimiter is set to «]» in order to retrieve only text that occurs after the closing square bracket («]»). In the example shown, the final result is «September» the name of the current worksheet in the workbook shown. 

MID + FIND function

In older versions of Excel that do not offer the TEXTAFTER function, you can use the MID function with the FIND function to extract the sheet name:

=MID(CELL("filename",A1),FIND("]",CELL("filename",A1))+1,255)

The core of this formula is the MID function, which is used to extract text starting at a specific position in a text string. Working from the inside out, the first CELL function returns the full path to the current workbook to the MID function as the text argument:

CELL("filename",A1) // get full path

We then need to tell MID where to start extracting text. To do this, we use the FIND function with a second call to the CELL function to locate the «]» character. We want MID to start extracting text after the «]» character, so we use the FIND function to get the position, then add 1:

FIND("]",CELL("filename",A1))+1 // get start number

The result from the above snippet is returned to the MID function as start_num. For the num_chars argument, we hard-code the number 255*. The MID function doesn’t care if the number of characters requested is larger than the length of the remaining text, it simply extracts all remaining text. The final result is «September» the name of the current worksheet in the workbook shown.

*Note: In Excel user interface, you can’t name a worksheet longer than 31 characters, but the file format itself permits worksheet names up to 255 characters, so this ensures the entire name is retrieved.

When working with Excel spreadsheets, sometimes you may have a need to get the name of the worksheet.

While you can always manually enter the sheet name, it won’t update in case the sheet name is changed.

So if you want to get the sheet name, so that it automatically updates when the name is changed, you can use a simple formula in Excel.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to get the sheet name in Excel using a simple formula.

Get Sheet Name Using the CELL Function

CELL function in Excel allows you to quickly get information about the cell in which the function is used.

This function also allows us to get the entire file name as a result of the formula.

Suppose I have an Excel workbook with the sheet name ‘Sales Data’

Below is the formula that I have used in any cells in the ‘Sales Data’ worksheet:

=CELL("filename"))

As you can see, it gave me the whole address of the file in which I am using this formula.

But I needed only the sheet name, not the whole file address,

Well, to get the sheet name only, we will have to use this formula along with some other text formulas, so that it can extract only the sheet name.

Below is the formula that will give you only the sheet name when you use it in any cell in that sheet:

=RIGHT(CELL("filename"),LEN(CELL("filename"))-FIND("]",CELL("filename")))

The above formula will give us the sheet name in all scenarios. And the best part is that it would automatically update in case you change the sheet name or the file name.

Note that the CELL formula only works if you have saved the workbook. If you haven’t, then it would return a blank (as it has no idea what the workbook path is)

Wondering how this formula works? Let me explain!

The CELL formula gives us the whole workbook address along with the sheet name at the end.

One rule it would always follow is to have the sheet name after the square bracket (]).

Knowing this, we can find out the position of the square bracket, and then extract everything after it (which would be the sheet name)

And that’s exactly what this formula does.

The FIND part of the formula looks for ‘]’ and return it’s position (which is a number that denotes the number of characters after which the square bracket is found)

We use this position of the square bracket within the RIGHT formula to extract everything after that square bracket

One major issue with the CELL formula is that it’s dynamic. So if you use it in Sheet1 and then go to Sheet2, the formula in Sheet1 would update and show you the name as Sheet2 (despite the formula being on Sheet1). This happens as the CELL formula considers the cell in the active sheet and gives the name for that sheet, no matter where it is in the workbook. A workaround would be to hit the F9 key when you want to update the CELL formula in the active sheet. This will force a recalculation.

Alternative Formula to Get Sheet Name (MID formula)

There are many different ways to do the same thing in Excel. And in this case, there is another formula that works just as well.

Instead of the RIGHT function, it uses the MID function.

Below is the formula:

=MID(CELL("filename"),FIND("]",CELL("filename"))+1,255)

This formula works similarly to the RIGHT formula, where it first finds the position of the square bracket (using the FIND function).

It then uses the MID function to extract everything after the square bracket.

Fetching Sheet Name and Adding Text to it

If you’re building a dashboard, you may want to not just get the name of the worksheet, but also append a text before or after it.

For example, if you have a sheet name 2021, you may want to get the result as ‘Summary of 2021’ (and not just the sheet name).

This can easily be done by combining the formula we saw above with the text we want before it using the ampersand operator.

Below is the formula that will add the text ‘Summary of ‘ before the sheet name:

="Summary of "&RIGHT(CELL("filename"),LEN(CELL("filename"))-FIND("]",CELL("filename")))

The ampersand operator (&) simply combines the text before the formula with the result of the formula. You can also use the CONCAT or CONCATENATE function instead of an ampersand.

Similarly, if you want to add any text after the formula, you can use the same ampersand logic (i.e., have the ampersand after the formula followed by the text that you want to append).

So these are two simple formulas that you can use to get the sheet name in Excel.

I hope you found this tutorial useful.

Other Excel tutorials you may also like:

• How to Rename a Sheet in Excel (4 Easy Ways + Shortcut)
• How to Insert New Worksheet in Excel (Easy Shortcuts)
• How to Unhide Sheets in Excel (All In One Go)
• How to Sort Worksheets in Excel using VBA (alphabetically)
• Combine Data From Multiple Worksheets into a Single Worksheet in Excel
• How to Compare Two Excel Sheets
• How to Group Worksheets in Excel

Often, you need to insert and work with the sheet name in an Excel sheet, for example if you are working with the ‘INDIRECT’-formula. Or, if you want to dynamically change headlines depending on the sheet name. If you don’t want to type the sheet name manually – which is very unstable – there are three ways to get a sheet name

Before we start: If you just have to insert the sheet name for a small amount of worksheets, please consider doing it manually. It usually is the fastest way.

Method 1: Insert the sheet name using built-in Excel functions

The easiest way is to copy the following function and paste it into your Excel cell:

=RIGHT(CELL("filename",A1),LEN(CELL("filename",A1))-SEARCH("]",CELL("filename",A1)))

This formula obtains the filename “=CELL(“filename”,A1)” and separates it after the character “]”. If you want to get the name of another Excel sheet, you have to change the cell reference from “A1” to any cell of the other worksheet. And depending on your version and language of Excel, you might have to translate the function names and maybe replace “,” by “;”.

The big advantages of this method is that it doesn’t require any programming in VBA or a third-party Excel add-in.

On the downside, please note the following comments:

• If you open a new file and paste this function, it won’t work before saving it.
• The cell function is volatile. That means, it always calculates no matter if you’ve changed anything. This is a disadvantage for large Excel files where the performance of calculation is crucial.
• Also, the cell function doesn’t translate to other languages. If your Excel is set to German, Spanish etc., you have to replace the “filename” part with the respective word in your language.

Method 2: Return the sheet name using VBA

The second way to get a worksheet name uses VBA. Once set-up, it might be easier to use. You have to open the developer tools and add a module. Next, you can use this code:

Function PROFEXSheetName(cell As Range) As String
    'This function returns the name of a selected worksheet
    '"cell" contains the link to a cell on the worksheet
    
    Application.Volatile
    'With "Application.Volatile" you can make sure, that the function will be recalculated once the worksheet is recalculated
    
    PROFEXSheetName = cell.Worksheet.Name
    'Returns the worksheet name
    
End Function

Now, you can use the function “=PROFEXSheetName(A1)” in your Excel cell and the worksheet name will be shown.

As the result of both ways is (or should be…) the same, it is up to you which way to choose. If you feel comfortable using an easy macro, you probably go for the second way. If not, just paste the formula from the first way to your cell.

Method 3: Use ‘Professor Excel Tools’

Because returning the sheet name is a common problem in Excel, it’s included in the Excel add-in ‘Professor Excel Tools’. Just type =PROFEXSheetName(A1) and it’ll return the sheet name. Download the free trial below.

Please note: for using this feature of Professor Excel Tools, you don’t have to buy a license. The built-in Excel functions are free to use in order to guarantee compatibility.

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This function is included in our Excel Add-In ‘Professor Excel Tools’

(No sign-up, download starts directly)

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Example: Take it a step further: Insert and clean a worksheet name

I usually recommend not using space characters in worksheet names. It has some disadvantages, especially when linking to other worksheets (read more about worksheet names here).

So, I usually use underscore “_”-characters to separate words in sheet names. Let’s assume the following example: The worksheet name should at the same time be displayed in a heading. Here is how to do it, using the method one from above.

The approach: Wrap the substitute function around the sheet name function:

So, the function is:

=SUBSTITUTE(RIGHT(CELL("filename",A1),LEN(CELL("filename",A1))-SEARCH("]",CELL("filename",A1))),"_"," ")

Download example sheet and further reading

Please download the example file here. It contains examples for the methods two and three from above.

You don’t want to insert the worksheet name but rather the whole path, file name etc.? Check this article. It has everything, you need!