# How to list the letters of the alphabet with a formula in Excel

In Excel 365, generate the character codes with SEQUENCE and turn them into letters: =CHAR(SEQUENCE(26,1,65)) spills A to Z.

**Excel:** `=CHAR(SEQUENCE($D$1,1,CODE($F$1)))` (Excel 2021, 2024 and Microsoft 365)

**Google Sheets:** `=ARRAYFORMULA(CHAR(SEQUENCE($D$1,1,CODE($F$1))))`

## Example

Sample data (row 1 is the header):

| A | B | C | D | E | F |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Letter |  | How many | 26 | Start at | A |

Formula in A2: `=CHAR(SEQUENCE($D$1,1,CODE($F$1)))`

Result (spills 26 × 1): A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; X; Y; Z

## How it works

Letters have consecutive character codes: A is 65, B is 66 and so on. CODE gets the code of the starting letter, SEQUENCE counts up from it, and CHAR turns each code back into its letter. Change D1 or F1 and the list updates.

## Other ways

- `=CHAR(SEQUENCE($D$1,1,CODE($F$1)+32))`: Lowercase letters have codes 32 higher (a is 97). (a to z instead of A to Z.)

## Common mistakes

- Asking for more than 26 letters from A runs past Z into [, \, ] and other symbols.
- In versions without SEQUENCE, put `=CHAR(64+ROW(A1))` in the first cell and fill down 26 rows.

## Questions

**How do I list the letters across a row?**

Swap the SEQUENCE arguments: `=CHAR(SEQUENCE(1,26,65))` spills A to Z to the right.

**How do I make labels like A1, B1, C1?**

Join a number: `=CHAR(SEQUENCE(26,1,65))&"1"`.

**Is there a way without a formula?**

Type A, B and C, select them and drag the fill handle; Excel continues the series only if you create a custom list first.

Every formula and result on this page was checked by running it in the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine on 2026-10-30.

Source: https://spreadsheetpractice.com/formulas/list-the-alphabet-with-a-formula