Name Tracing Worksheet Generator
Type a name, pick print letters or a school cursive style, and print a tracing sheet with guide lines. Free, and what you type stays in your browser.
How to make a name tracing sheet
Type the name the way it is really written, with a capital first letter and the rest in lower case. A short name is repeated along each row, so there is more of it to trace. A full name can go on one line, or on up to three lines, one for each part. The rows of the sheet are then shared between the lines.
- Pick the letter style. If you are not sure, start with Print letters. If the school teaches cursive, choose the style that looks most like the school’s own sheets. The guide further down this page describes each one.
- Pick how the letters are drawn: solid grey, an outline or dots. All three are pale enough for pencil to show on top of them.
- Choose the number of rows, from 3 to 10. Fewer rows give bigger letters, which suits a child who is just starting.
- Leave “Fade from dark to light” on and each row is a little paler than the one above it. Leave the empty last row on and the sheet ends with a row for writing the name alone.
- Choose US Letter or A4, then press Print. For a clean sheet, turn off headers and footers in the print window. Download PNG saves the same sheet as a picture.
The preview shows the whole page as it will print. Every row has four guide lines: a top line, a dashed middle line, the base line the letters sit on, and a pale line for the tails of letters such as g and y. Turn “Guide lines” off for letters on a plain page.
Which letter style matches your school
The tool has 15 letter styles: one set of print letters and 14 cursive styles. The cursive styles are the Playwrite fonts by TypeTogether, made from research into how handwriting is taught in primary schools. Schools differ, even inside one country, so the teacher's own sheets are the best guide. Pick the style that looks most like them.
United States
There is no national handwriting model in the United States. Schools are served by several private publishers with different approaches, so it is hard to say which letters are the most common. US modern cursive is upright. Its capitals are simple print letters, and its small letters are partly joined and have no loops. US traditional cursive is slanted and fully joined, with loops on the tall letters and on the tails, and a few decorative capitals.
In the style list: US modern cursive · US traditional cursive
England
Several well-known handwriting styles began in England. Modern cursive, which grew out of the italic handwriting revival of the early 20th century, has been one of the most popular approaches there in recent years. The tool has two versions of it, both with simple print capitals. In the semi-joined style no letter has a loop, and b, p, g and s do not join the letter after them. The joined style connects every letter and has loops on the tails only.
In the style list: England, semi-joined · England, joined
Australia
Every Australian state teaches a modern cursive, often just called script, and each state has its own version. They go back to one shared recommendation made in 1990, and the five main models have drifted apart in their details since then. The NSW, QLD, SA and Tasmania styles are slanted and partly joined, with print-style capitals and no loops. The Victoria style is partly joined too, but it borrows from fully joined cursive: the bowls of b and p are open, and the f has a loop. Pick the state the child goes to school in.
In the style list: Australia, NSW · Australia, QLD · Australia, SA · Australia, Tasmania · Australia, Victoria
New Zealand
The style taught in New Zealand is set out in Teaching Handwriting, a Ministry of Education publication first released in 1985 and last updated in 2025. Teaching moves from a simple print script to a semi-joined cursive, and teachers and schools usually make their own resources from it. The New Zealand style in the tool is that cursive: fast and slanted, partly joined, with simple print capitals. For a child who is still at the print stage, Print letters are the closer choice.
In the style list: New Zealand
Canada
Cursive in Canada goes back to a teaching method from the middle of the 20th century. Its books are no longer used, but its letter shapes live on in schoolbooks from regional governments and private publishers, and most Canadian primary schools use them. The Canada style is a slanted, fully joined cursive with loops on the tall letters and on the tails. Its capitals are cursive too, and a few, such as I, J and G, are quite ornate.
In the style list: Canada
Ireland
The support material for the Primary Language Curriculum of 2019 says cursive can start as early as junior infants. In practice each school chooses its own method, and most teachers begin with print letters, often called manuscript, or with precursive letters in the infant classes. From first class on, children add exit strokes to the letters and then join them. The Ireland style is a sloped, fully joined cursive with short loops, and its capitals join the next letter where they can.
In the style list: Ireland
South Africa
The national curriculum statement (CAPS) sets the steps: motor skills in Grade R, unjoined capital and small letters in Grade 1, more speed in Grade 2, and cursive after that. It does not prescribe a model. Teachers and publishers have settled on simple “ball and stick” print letters for the first stage and a slanted, fully joined cursive after it. The South Africa style is that cursive, with a gentle slope and loops on the tall letters and on the tails. For the first stage, Print letters are the closer choice.
In the style list: South Africa
India
The National Curriculum Framework asks schools to teach three languages, and English can be one of them. Children learn to write in Grades 1 and 2, and no handwriting model is prescribed. The current NCERT English textbooks teach print letters in Grade 1 and show no cursive in Grade 1 or 2. The series before them taught cursive in Grade 2. The India style follows that older copybook cursive: slanted and fully joined, with loops and decorative capitals.
In the style list: India
Tips
- Start with the name as it is really written: a capital first letter, then lower case. A name in all capitals can wait.
- Keep sessions short. One sheet, or even a few rows of it, is enough for one sitting. Stop while it is still fun.
- Move in steps. Start with solid grey letters, change to dotted ones once tracing is easy, and keep the empty last row for writing the name alone.
- For a left-handed child, tilt the paper to suit the writing arm and let the child hold the pencil a little higher up, so the hand hides less of the row. When the hand covers the start of a row, the row above shows the same letters.
- Print more than one copy. A fresh sheet is kinder than rubbing out, and the same name can be traced again another day.
Questions
Is the name tracing generator free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no limit on the number of sheets. Each sheet carries this site’s address in small grey type at the foot, and nothing else is added to it.
Which letter style should I pick?
Pick the one that looks most like the letters the child sees at school. Many schools start with print letters. If the school teaches cursive, choose the country or state in the list and hold the preview next to a sheet from the teacher. Schools differ, so the closest match matters more than the label.
Can I print on A4 paper?
Yes. Choose A4 or US Letter under Paper before you print, and check that the print window is set to the same paper size. The preview shows the whole page in the size you chose.
Why are some letters missing in a cursive style?
The cursive font files used here cover English, the accented letters of most European languages written in Latin letters, and Vietnamese. A letter that a style has no shape for is left out of the sheet, and a line under the buttons says which. Print letters cover more, including Cyrillic, so try them for such a name.
Does this site see the name I type?
No. The sheet is made in your browser. What you type is not sent to us, is not stored and never goes into the page address. When you press Print or Download PNG we count that a sheet was made and which options it used, never its text. The print title and the name of the PNG file are fixed words for the same reason.
Can I use the sheets in a classroom?
Yes. Print as many copies as you need, for home, a classroom or a childcare group. There is nothing to sign up for. The fonts are open fonts under the SIL Open Font License, and the note at the end of this page links to the license texts.