Title case converter
Capitalises a headline properly — short words stay lowercase, unlike naive tools.
Paste a headline and press "Title Case". The important words are capitalised and the small joining words — articles, short prepositions and conjunctions — stay lowercase, exactly as a style guide requires.
The mistake almost every tool makes
Type "the lord of the rings" into most title-case tools and you get "The Lord Of The Rings". That is wrong. Every major style guide — AP, Chicago, APA, MLA — keeps short words like of, the and and lowercase unless they start or end the title. The correct result is "The Lord of the Rings".
The reason so many tools get it wrong is that capitalising every word is one line of code, while real title case needs a list of words to leave alone and rules about position. This one does it properly: it keeps the common short words lowercase, but always capitalises the first and last word of the title regardless — so "The Time Machine" and "A Book to Read" both come out right.
The button next to it, "Capitalize Every Word", is there for when you genuinely do want every word raised — for a name, a label, or a style that calls for it. Having both, clearly separated, is the point. Most tools give you only the wrong one and call it title case.
Which words stay lowercase
Articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so) and short prepositions (of, to, in, on, at, by, up, as, and similar) are kept lowercase in the middle of a title. Everything else is capitalised. The first and last words are always capitalised even if they are on the list, because a title should never begin or end with a lowercase word.
The style guides differ in the fine detail — Chicago lowercases all prepositions regardless of length, AP capitalises prepositions of four letters or more — so if you are held to one specific guide, glance over the result. For the overwhelming majority of headlines the common rules agree and the output is correct as it stands. Our guide on title case versus sentence case explains when to use which.
What people use it for
- Headlines and titles. Articles, blog posts, book and chapter titles, section headings.
- Email subject lines that need to look considered.
- Presentation slides and report headings.
- Fixing text that arrived in caps — press "Title Case" on a shouting headline to civilise it.
Doing it without this tool
Word and Google Docs: Change Case → Capitalize Each Word raises every word, small ones included, so it produces the wrong result for a real title.
Excel: the PROPER function capitalises every word and also lowercases the rest, turning "iPhone"
into "Iphone". Wrong on two counts for headlines.
By hand: the reliable method, and the reason a tool exists — remembering which prepositions are short enough to lowercase is exactly the tedious part.
Runs entirely in your browser. Your text is never uploaded — open DevTools, Network tab, and you will see zero requests while you use this tool.
How to use it
- Paste your headline into the box.
- Press "Title Case" — important words are capitalised, short joining words stay lowercase.
- Use "Capitalize Every Word" instead only if you really want every word raised.
- Check against your specific style guide if you are held to one.
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
Because that is what proper title case requires. AP, Chicago, APA and MLA all keep articles, short prepositions and conjunctions lowercase in the middle of a title. "The Lord of the Rings", not "The Lord Of The Rings".
Use the "Capitalize Every Word" button, which raises every word including the short ones. That is a different style from true title case, which is why the two are separate buttons.
Yes, even if they are on the lowercase list. A title should never begin or end with a lowercase word, so "A Book to Read" capitalises the leading "A".
The common rules that AP, Chicago, APA and MLA agree on. They differ in fine detail around prepositions, so if you are held to one specific guide, glance over the result.
Title case capitalises the first letter of words to raise and leaves the rest, so an intentional capital inside a word is generally kept rather than flattened the way Excel\’s PROPER does.