How to Shorten Contact Names on an iPhone

Open your iPhone's Settings., Scroll to the fifth group of options and tap Contacts. , Tap Short Name., Review your name-shortening options., Select your preferred option.

5 Steps 1 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Open your iPhone's Settings.

    Do this by tapping the grey gear icon on one of your phone's Home screens (it may be in a folder named "Utilities").
  2. Step 2: Scroll to the fifth group of options and tap Contacts.

    , It should be in the middle of the page.

    Note that the "short name" setting doesn't apply to the Contacts app itself--all of your contacts' names will be displayed in as full a format as possible there. , If you don't see any short name options here, you'll need to slide the Short Name switch right to the "On" position first.

    You can change the way a name appears in a text conversation or while talking on the phone to one of four formats:
    First Name & Last Initial First Initial & Last Name First Name Only Last Name Only , For example, if you want to see only a contact's first time while texting them, you'd tap First Name Only.
  3. Step 3: Tap Short Name.

  4. Step 4: Review your name-shortening options.

  5. Step 5: Select your preferred option.

Detailed Guide

Do this by tapping the grey gear icon on one of your phone's Home screens (it may be in a folder named "Utilities").

, It should be in the middle of the page.

Note that the "short name" setting doesn't apply to the Contacts app itself--all of your contacts' names will be displayed in as full a format as possible there. , If you don't see any short name options here, you'll need to slide the Short Name switch right to the "On" position first.

You can change the way a name appears in a text conversation or while talking on the phone to one of four formats:
First Name & Last Initial First Initial & Last Name First Name Only Last Name Only , For example, if you want to see only a contact's first time while texting them, you'd tap First Name Only.

About the Author

J

Jean Collins

A passionate writer with expertise in creative arts topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.

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