Deleting Names

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 30, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


There may come a time when you want to delete names you previously defined and used in Excel. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Choose Name from the Insert menu, and then Define from the resulting submenu. Excel displays the Define Name dialog box. (See Figure 1.) (It sounds strange to choose Define when you want to delete something, but that is the way Excel is designed.)
  2. Figure 1. The Define Name dialog box.

  3. In the list of available names, select the one you want to delete.
  4. Click on the Delete button. The name is removed from the list.
  5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for other names you want to delete
  6. Click on OK to close the Define Name dialog box.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2661) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Understanding Outlining in Word

Remember when you needed to create outlines for your writing when you were in school? Word includes outlining ...

Discover More

Placing Textbox Text Into a Worksheet

Want to get rid of your text boxes and move their text into the worksheet? It's going to take a macro-based approach, ...

Discover More

Creating a Spelling Exclusion List

Don't like it when Word always says a word is spelled right and you know that it isn't? Here's how you can fine-tune the ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Getting Context-Sensitive Help

Need help on a particular topic, dialog box, or command? You can use Excel's powerful help system to get just the ...

Discover More

Status Bar Summing No Longer Available

When you select a range of cells, Excel normally displays the sum of those selected cells on the status bar. If the sum ...

Discover More

Stopping Help from Using Online Resources

The two newest versions of Excel rely upon the Internet to grab help information. If you don't want Excel to seek help ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 2 + 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.