What are the naming rules for named ranges in Excel?

18 Dec 20251 minute to read

When defining a named range in Excel, the following rules apply:

• Start character: Must begin with a letter (A-Z/a-z), underscore (_), or backslash ().

• Allowed characters: Can include letters, numbers, underscores (_), and periods (.).

• Characters not allowed: Spaces and most special characters (e.g., ! @ # $ % ^ & *) are not permitted.

• No cell references: Names cannot resemble a valid cell reference (e.g., A1, R1C1).

• Length limit: Maximum of 255 characters.

• Case sensitivity: Names are case-insensitive.