TEXTJOIN combines fields with a chosen separator and can skip empty cells. Keep the original name components available so the combined display does not become the only surviving representation.
Choose the delimiter and fields
For name components in A2:C2, =TEXTJOIN(" ",TRUE,A2:C2) joins nonempty cells with spaces. A blank middle field is omitted instead of deliberately adding another empty component.
The delimiter can be other text, such as a comma and space. Choose it for the receiving purpose; a display name and a machine-readable export may need different representations.
Check what counts as empty
A cell containing spaces is not necessarily empty. Inspect imported whitespace if the combined result has unexplained gaps. Preserve legitimate internal spacing and punctuation rather than normalizing all names into one assumed pattern.
Do not impose a universal first-middle-last interpretation on global names. Use the source’s defined fields, and keep an explicitly supplied preferred display name when that is the authoritative representation.
Verify the output and its dependencies
Test a complete row, a row with a missing optional component, and a row with all fields empty. Check accented characters and punctuation in the resulting text. Make sure copied formulas continue to reference their own row.
If you later paste the results as values, the combined names stop updating when source components change. Record that snapshot boundary before deleting helper formulas. A joined name is also a poor unique identifier: different people can have the same display name. Retain a stable ID for reconciliation and use the combined text for presentation rather than as an assumed unique account key.
References
Reviewed against the linked official product guidance on November 3, 2026. Features, limits, screen labels, and access can vary by account, platform, region, and organization policy.