No sign-up · Any name · Print letters
Free name tracing worksheet
Type your child's name and print a tracing sheet in seconds: trace it, copy it, then write it alone. Or let them tap the letters into order on screen.
Up to 20 characters. It stays on this device and is never sent anywhere.
How it works
Print the sheet
Trace the dashed outlines that fade down the page, copy the solid model, then write the name on the empty lines.
Build it from tiles
The letters come out jumbled. Your child taps them into order, and each one is named aloud. No reading, no timer, nothing to fail.
Hear it spelled
Each letter's name in turn, then the whole name. Say the letters along while writing, which is what links the shapes to the spoken order.
The sheet uses print letters: separate, unjoined letters in a school-style typeface with the single-storey a and g children are taught to write. Joined-up and school-specific letter shapes are not included.
How to use it at 3, 4 and 5
Children reach name writing in stages, months apart. Match the sheet to the stage, not to the birthday.
Age 3
Recognising it, and maybe one letter
Most 3-year-olds know their name by its shape and first letter, and can copy a letter or two. Print it in capitals (ABC) and use only the first tracing row or two, or the first letter of it. Play Build my name for the letter names alone. Writing the whole name is not expected yet.
Age 4
Copying it with a model
A typical 4-year-old copies the name with a model in front of them and often writes the first letter or two unaided. Work down the tracing rows, then copy from the solid model. Capitals are fine at this stage. Five focused minutes beats a full page.
Age 5
Writing it unaided, then saying it
By 5 most children write their name unaided, often in all capitals. Use the lighter tracing rows briefly, then the empty lines, and move to the Abc option once the letters are secure. Build my name and Hear it spelled help with the next step, saying the letters in order from memory.
For what is typical at each age, and what is worth mentioning to a teacher, read when can a child spell their name.
Questions parents ask
Is the name tracing worksheet really free?
Yes. Type a first name, choose the letter style and paper size, and print. There is no sign-up, no account and nothing to install. The tracing sheet and the letter game are free to use as often as you like.
Is my child's name saved or sent anywhere?
No. The name is used only inside your browser to draw the sheet and the letter tiles. It is not sent to our server, it is not put in the page address, and it is not stored, so refreshing the page clears it. The downloaded file has a generic name for the same reason.
What does the printed sheet look like?
One page of handwriting lines. The first rows show the name as a dashed outline that gets lighter down the page, for tracing. Then one solid copy of the name to copy from, and empty lines to write it alone. That is the tracing, copying, unaided order that name writing usually develops in.
Which letters does it use?
Print letters (the separate, unjoined letters taught first in most US, UK and Australian schools), in a school-style typeface with the single-storey a and g that children are taught to write. You can print the name as Abc, ABC or abc. Joined-up and school-specific letter shapes are not included.
Can it do long names, hyphens and accents?
Yes, up to 20 characters. Hyphens, apostrophes and spaces work (Mary-Jane, O'Neill, Anna Maria), and so do accented Latin letters such as ë, ñ and ø. Names written in other alphabets are not supported yet.
What is the letter game for?
Build my name shows the letters of the name jumbled, and your child taps them into order. Each tap says the letter's name aloud and the whole name is said at the end. A wrong tap just wiggles, so there is nothing to fail. Rebuilding a name from loose letters is the skill that becomes spelling it out loud a year or so later.
Related resources
When Can a Child Spell Their Name?
The full age-by-age guide, ages 3 to 7, and when it is worth asking a teacher.
Kindergarten Spelling Words
The first word list most children meet after their own name.
Sight Words
Free listen-and-type practice on the short, common words that come next.
Spelling Milestones by Age
What is typical at each age from 3 to 11.
When the name is done, make the next words fun
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