How to make a name tracing worksheet
- Type the name. Use the spelling the child will write at school, with a capital first letter if that is how their teacher writes it.
- Pick the letters. Print (ball and stick) is what most preschool and kindergarten classes start with. D'Nealian style is for schools that teach slanted letters with small exit tails as a step toward cursive. Cursive is there for older kids.
- Pick a tracing style. Dotted is the classic look. Dashed lines are easier to see on a light printer. Light gray is the gentlest for very young children, who can trace a solid line more easily than dots.
- Print, or save as PDF. Each name prints on its own page. Choose "Save as PDF" in the print window if you want a file to keep or send.
Why these letters trace better
Most free name tracing sheets use a dotted font: the letter is a hollow outline filled with dots, so the child traces around the edge of a fat letter. The letters here are drawn as a single center line, the same path a pencil takes. The dots sit exactly where the pencil should go, which makes the sheet easier to follow and closer to what a teacher writes on the board.
Because the letters are drawn stroke by stroke, the generator also knows where each stroke begins. Turn on green starting dots and every stroke gets a dot where the pencil goes down. That small cue stops the most common habit worth breaking early: starting letters from the bottom. Stroke order numbers and arrows on the solid example show which stroke comes first and which way it goes.
What each option is for
Letters, tracing style, line size and paper sit at the top of the generator. Everything else is under More options.
- Line size. Extra large lines suit 3 and 4 year olds who are still building the grip. Large fits pre-K and kindergarten. Medium and small match the ruled paper used in first and second grade.
- Solid example. The first line shows the name in solid letters so the child can see the target before tracing it.
- Empty lines at the end. Leave one or two lines blank for writing the name without help. That is the real test.
- Red and blue lines. A blue top line, a dashed middle line and a red baseline, like the paper used in many US classrooms. Gray lines print better in black and white.
- Last name on its own line. For a first and last name, the last name goes on the line below, so both stay at a good size.
- Capitals. Teach the name the way the child will write it at school: first letter capital, the rest lowercase. ALL CAPITALS is there for children who are just starting and only know capital letters.
Free, private, no sign-up
There is no account, no email and nothing to download or install. The worksheet is made in your browser. The names you type are not sent to us or stored anywhere; if you close the page, they are gone. Accented names such as José, Zoë or Chloé are supported, and so are hyphenated names and apostrophes.