How To Name Columns In Google Sheets - TechObservatory

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Phoebe Sanchez

8 November 2023
How to Name Columns in Google Sheets
↳ In this article Naming a Column in Google Sheets Designing Column Titles Freezing Column Titles

Imagine a worksheet with several thousand columns, and you are unsure which column represents what. When working with data, it’s crucial to be organized, or you could easily be overwhelmed. This is why it’s important to include column titles of data as you work through your document.

In Google Sheets, column headers are named A, B, C, and so on by default. While Google Sheets does not allow these header names to be changed, the first row (A1, B1, C1, etc.) is typically reserved for adding column headings. This article shows how to name columns in Google Sheets.

Naming a Column in Google Sheets

We assume you still haven’t added any column names and only added your raw data. Create a new header row following these steps:

  1. Click on any cell of the first row of your worksheet.

    Select Cell
    Select any cell from the 1st row.

  2. From the Insert menu in the toolbar, click on the Rows option. From the sub-menu, choose Insert 1 row above.

    Insert Row
    Click on Insert 1 row above option from the Insert menu.

  3. In the inserted row, enter the column names according to your preference. In the example, I labeled the column names First Name, Last Name, and Height.
Label Headers
Label the headers.

Designing Column Titles

To make the column titles more noticeable, you can make the column title’s text bold, increase the text size, change font colors, or change the background color of the column title.

Bold text

Select the column titles and press Ctrl + B (for Windows users) or Cmd + B (for macOS users)

Bold text
Press Ctrl + B or Cmd + B to make the text bold.

Text Size

Select the column titles. Click on the Font size dropdown from the toolbar and choose the size.

Text Size
Choose the size from the Font size dropdown in the toolbar.

Font Color

Select the column titles. Click on the Text color dropdown from the toolbar and choose the color.

Font color
Choose the Font color from the Text color dropdown in the toolbar.

Background Color

Select the column titles. Click on the Fill color dropdown from the toolbar and choose the color.

Background color
Choose the background color from the Fill color dropdown in the toolbar.

Freezing Column Titles

Freezing the row containing the column titles makes navigating the worksheet much easier. The frozen row is locked in place; it is always visible, no matter how far you scroll down. To make your column title freeze, do the following:

  1. First, select the column title row.

    Select Header Row
    Select the entire header row.

  2. Select the View option in the toolbar, then click on Freeze. From the sub-menu, click on Up to 1 row.

    Freeze
    Click on Up to row 1

Now, when you scroll vertically, the column title you chose to freeze remains in view no matter where you are in the spreadsheet.

Freeze Column Titles
Column title frozen at the top.
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Phoebe Sanchez

Phoebe works in HR Administration for IBM and other tech companies, and graduated with a BA in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Utah. She is a chief editor at TechObservatory.

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