Excel Formula Spotlight: First Name with Random Suffix Generator

If you're working in Excel and need a quick way to generate a custom identifier using a person's first name followed by a random number, this formula is a perfect solution.

🎯 What the Formula Does

=IF(ISNUMBER(SEARCH(" ", B2)), TEXTBEFORE(B2, " "), B2) & "@" & RANDBETWEEN(1000,99999)

It dynamically:

Extracts the first name from a full name in cell B2,
Appends an "@" symbol,
Adds a random number (between 1000 and 99999).

🔍 Real-World Examples

Full Name (B2)	Generated Output
`John Doe`	`John@27483`
`Asha`	`Asha@83917`

Each time the sheet recalculates, the random number updates — great for generating unique, non-sensitive identifiers or temporary usernames.

🧠 How It Works

SEARCH(" ", B2) → Looks for a space character in the cell (to check if there's a full name).
ISNUMBER(...) → Returns TRUE if a space exists, meaning there’s a full name.
TEXTBEFORE(B2, " ") → Extracts the first name from the full name.
B2 → If no space is found (i.e., just a first name), returns the whole value.
"@" & RANDBETWEEN(1000,99999) → Adds an @ and a random number between 1000 and 99999.

🛠️ Use Cases

Quickly generate test usernames like Asha@54321
Create non-personal unique IDs for events, forms, or demos
Lightweight way to pseudo-anonymize user data in Excel

📝 Tips

Want a fixed ID? Copy the result and use Paste Special → Values to lock it in.
You can increase randomness by extending the number range (e.g., 100000 to 999999).

Thanks for reading.

📊 Excel Formula Spotlight: First Name with Random Suffix Generator

Thank you for your time and consideration.

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🎯 What the Formula Does

🔍 Real-World Examples

🧠 How It Works

🛠️ Use Cases

📝 Tips

Command Palette

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Comments

More from this blog

🎯 What the Formula Does

🔍 Real-World Examples

🧠 How It Works

🛠️ Use Cases

📝 Tips