Chicago: a, an, the, and, but, or, for, nor, as, to and prepositions (of, in, on, with, from, about…) stay lower case. The first and last word, and the word after a colon, always get a capital. ALL CAPS words (NASA) and words like iPhone stay as you typed them.
About the Title Case Converter
In a title, most words start with a capital letter, but small words like "of", "the" and "and" do not. This title case converter knows those rules. Type or paste a headline and the result appears as you type: "the lord of the rings" becomes The Lord of the Rings.
Pick the style you need: Chicago (books, blogs and many school papers), AP / APA (news and science papers) or Every word. Paste a whole list of titles, one per line, and each line is done on its own.
Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Features
- Live — the title is converted while you type, no button to press
- Three styles — Chicago, AP / APA, and Every word; your choice is remembered
- Small words stay small — articles, short joining words and prepositions, by the rules of each style
- Smart about capitals — NASA, FBI and iPhone stay as you typed them
- First, last and after a colon — these words always get a capital
- Many titles at once — one title per line, each line on its own
- Other cases one click away — UPPERCASE, lowercase, Sentence case, camelCase and more
Which words stay lower case?
All styles agree on most words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns and adverbs get a capital. Short verbs like Is, Are and Be get one too. The styles differ in the small joining words:
| Word | Chicago | AP / APA | Every word |
|---|---|---|---|
| a, an, the | lower case | lower case | capital |
| and, but, or, nor, for | lower case | lower case | capital |
| so, yet | So, Yet | lower case | capital |
| if | If | lower case | capital |
| as, to, at, by, in, of, on | lower case | lower case | capital |
| off, out, up, per, via | lower case | lower case | capital |
| with, from, into, over, upon | lower case | With, From, Into, Over, Upon | capital |
| about, after, between, through | lower case | About, After, Between, Through | capital |
| is, are, be, it, its, your | Is, Are, Be, It, Its, Your | same | same |
The short way to remember it: Chicago keeps every preposition small, however long it is. AP and APA keep only words of three letters or fewer small. AP and APA use the same rule for titles, so they share one button here.
MLA is close to Chicago: use the Chicago button and check "so" and "yet" by hand (MLA keeps them lower case).
Worked examples
| You type | Chicago | AP / APA |
|---|---|---|
| the lord of the rings: the return of the king | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
| a guide to living with less | A Guide to Living with Less | A Guide to Living With Less |
| 10 tips for working from home | 10 Tips for Working from Home | 10 Tips for Working From Home |
| a walk through the park | A Walk through the Park | A Walk Through the Park |
| fast yet simple ideas for dinner | Fast Yet Simple Ideas for Dinner | Fast yet Simple Ideas for Dinner |
| what is it good for | What Is It Good For | What Is It Good For |
| NASA plans a trip back to the moon | NASA Plans a Trip Back to the Moon | NASA Plans a Trip Back to the Moon |
| step-by-step guide to the iPhone camera | Step-by-Step Guide to the iPhone Camera | Step-by-Step Guide to the iPhone Camera |
| THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR | The Best Books of the Year | The Best Books of the Year |
A few things to notice:
- "For" at the end gets a capital, because the last word always does.
- "The" after the colon gets a capital, because the word after a colon starts a new part of the title.
- "Step-by-Step": each part of a hyphenated word follows the same rules, so "by" stays small.
- A title in ALL CAPS is first made lower case, because the tool cannot tell an acronym from a shouted word there. Type acronyms in capitals inside a normal title, and they stay.
What a tool cannot know
Title case depends on what a word does in the sentence, and a tool only sees the letters. Read the result once, and fix these by hand:
- Phrasal verbs. In "Log In", "Set Up" or "Turn Off", the small word is part of the verb, so all styles give it a capital. The tool sees "in", "up" and "off" as prepositions and keeps them small: "How to Set up a Home Office" should be "How to Set Up a Home Office".
- Words that change their job. "Like" is a verb in "I Like It" and a preposition in "Dance like Nobody's Watching". This tool always gives "like" a capital.
- Names and brands. A name typed in lower case (iphone, mcdonald's) gets only its first letter changed: Iphone, Mcdonald's. Type the name the right way (iPhone, McDonald's) and the tool keeps it.
Where title case is used
- Book, film and song titles — in a list, a review or a school paper
- Blog post and article headlines — many blogs use Chicago or AP
- YouTube video titles and podcast episode names
- APA papers — the title of the paper and its headings (but the titles of articles in the reference list use sentence case)
- Slides and reports — headings and chart titles
Many modern apps and websites now use sentence case for headings ("How to set up a home office"). If you need that, click Sentence case in the row of buttons.
Frequently asked questions
Which title case style should I use?
Use the one your teacher, school, publisher or company asks for. If nobody asks, Chicago is a safe choice for books, blogs and websites, and AP is the usual choice for news. For a paper in psychology, education or other social sciences, use APA.
Is "is" capitalized in a title?
Yes. "Is" is a verb, and verbs always get a capital in title case, even short ones: What Is Love, It Is Time, Who Are You.
Do you capitalize "with" and "from" in a title?
It depends on the style. Chicago keeps all prepositions lower case, so "with" and "from" stay small. AP and APA give a capital to every word of four letters or more, so it is "With" and "From".
Are words after a colon capitalized?
Yes, in all three styles the first word after a colon gets a capital: "Star Wars: A New Hope".
Can I convert many titles at once?
Yes. Put each title on its own line. The tool treats each line as a separate title, so every line gets its own first and last word.
Is my text saved or sent anywhere?
No. Everything happens in your browser. Only the style you pick is saved in this browser, so it is ready next time.
Related tools
- Case Converter — UPPERCASE, lowercase, camelCase, snake_case and more
- Word Counter — count the words of your headline or article
- Character Counter — check a title against a length limit
- Remove Extra Spaces — tidy a pasted list of titles
- Bold Text Generator — make a title bold for a social post
- Syllable Counter — count the syllables of a poem or song title
How to use it
- Type or paste your title in the box — one title per line for many titles
- The result appears below as you type
- Pick a Style: Chicago, AP / APA or Every word
- Read the result once and fix phrasal verbs like "Set Up" by hand
- Click Copy, then paste the title where you need it
- Need another case? Click UPPERCASE, Sentence case or another button
