Acronym Generator
Type a phrase, or one phrase per line, and get the initials. Small words are skipped by default, as in RSPB, and you can add dots or show the phrase beside it.
Worked examples
Skipping small words
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
RSPB
for, the and of are skipped.
Hyphenated words
Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
SCUBA
Each part of Self-Contained gives a letter.
With full stops
United Kingdom
U.K.
The dotted style.
About Acronym Generator
Acronyms are everywhere, from organisations and projects to school clubs and software. Making one is simple in principle: take the first letter of each word. In practice you must decide what to do with small words, hyphenated words and numbers. This tool follows the usual conventions and lets you change them. Type a phrase and see the acronym straight away.
By default small linking words such as a, an, and, at, by, for, in, of, on, or, the and to are skipped, so Royal Society for the Protection of Birds gives RSPB. The first word is always kept. Hyphenated words give a letter for each part, so Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus gives SCUBA. Enter several phrases, one per line, to make several at once. You can put a full stop after each letter, keep the letters as typed and show the phrase beside its acronym, which is handy for building a glossary.
How to use Acronym Generator
- Type a phrase, or one phrase on each line.
- Choose whether to skip small words.
- Choose full stops, original case or showing the phrase if you want them.
- Copy the acronyms.
Common uses
- Naming a project, a club or a campaign
- Making initials from a full name
- Building a glossary of abbreviations for a report or a website
- Checking how a long organisation name shortens
Frequently asked questions
Which words are skipped?
a, an, and, at, by, for, in, of, on, or, the and to, except when one is the first word. Untick the option to use every word.
How are hyphenated words treated?
Each part gives a letter, so Self-Contained gives SC. Slashes also separate words.
What about numbers?
A word that starts with a digit gives that digit, so 3 blind mice gives 3BM.
Is a generated acronym automatically a good name?
Not always. Check that it does not spell something unfortunate and is not already used for something else before you adopt it.