You imported a contact list. Every name sits in one cell. Now you want personalized emails that open with the first name only. So you need to split the column.
The trouble starts on the second row. Real names do not follow one clean pattern.
The Old Way (Split, Left, Right, Find)
The common trick grabs everything before the first space for the first name.
=LEFT(A2, FIND(" ", A2) - 1)Then everything after the space for the last name.
=RIGHT(A2, LEN(A2) - FIND(" ", A2))It works until a middle name appears. "Mary Jane Watson" puts "Jane Watson" in the last-name column. "Vincent van Gogh" splits the surname. "Robert Downey Jr." tacks the suffix onto the name. Every fix means another nested REGEXEXTRACT that the next edge case defeats.
The FITS Way (Just Describe It)
With FITS, you ask for the part you want. The AI reads the name like a person would.
=FITS("Return only the first name from: " & A2)=FITS("Return only the last name from: " & A2)It knows "van Gogh" is one surname. It treats "Jr." as a suffix, not a last name. It drops the middle name where it belongs. No cascade of edge-case formulas. You describe the goal once.
When to Use Each
Use SPLIT or LEFT/RIGHT when every name is a tidy "First Last" with no exceptions. Use =FITS() the moment real humans enter their names. For more paste-ready examples, see our AI formulas for content marketers guide and the definitive guide to AI data cleaning.
Split Names Without the Headache
FITS brings plain-English AI formulas into Google Sheets. Describe what you want. Get it right the first time. Free tier included.