How to Change Labels on Excel Graph

Tired of generic chart titles and confusing axis labels in your Excel spreadsheets? You've built a great chart to visualize your data, but if the labels aren't clear, your audience might miss the point entirely. This guide will walk you through exactly how to change every label on your Excel graph - from the main title and axis labels to individual data points - so your charts are always easy to understand.

Understanding the Different Types of Chart Labels in Excel

Before diving into the "how," it's helpful to know the "what." An Excel chart is made up of several distinct components, each with its own type of label you can customize. Understanding these parts makes finding and editing them much easier.

Here are the primary labels you'll work with:

Chart Title: The main heading at the top of the chart that tells your audience what the graph is about (e.g., "Quarterly Sales Performance").
Axis Titles: Labels that describe the data along the horizontal (X-axis) and vertical (Y-axis). For example, "Months" on the X-axis and "Revenue ($)" on the Y-axis.
Axis Labels: These are the specific values or categories along each axis, like "January," "February," "March" on the horizontal axis or "$0," "$1,000," "$2,000" on the vertical axis.
Legend (Series Names): The key that identifies different data series in your chart. If you're comparing 2022 sales vs. 2023 sales, "2022 Sales" and "2023 Sales" would be your legend labels.
Data Labels: Text placed directly on the data points (the bars, pie slices, or points on a line) to show their exact value.

Now, let's go step-by-step through customizing each one.

How to Edit Your Excel Chart Title

The chart title is often the first thing people see, so making it clear and descriptive is essential. Of all the labels, this is the easiest to change.

Method 1: The Quick Click-and-Type

If your chart already has a placeholder title (like "Chart Title"), editing it is simple:

Click once directly on the chart title text. A box will appear around it.
Click again inside the box to place your cursor there.
Delete the placeholder text and type in your new, descriptive title.
Click anywhere outside the chart title box to save your changes.

If your chart doesn't have a title, you can add one by selecting the chart, going to the Chart Design tab, and clicking Add Chart Element > Chart Title > Above Chart.

Method 2: Link the Title to a Cell for Dynamic Updates

This is a fantastic trick for creating dynamic dashboards where chart titles need to update automatically based on other inputs. By linking your chart title to a specific cell, the title will change whenever the content of that cell changes. Here’s how to do it:

Click on the chart title box to select it. Don't click inside to edit the text - just select the outer box.
Go to the Excel Formula Bar (the long fx bar just above the column letters).
Type the equals sign (=).
With your mouse, click on the cell that contains the text you want to use for your title (e.g., cell A1).
Press Enter.

The chart title will now mirror the text in cell A1. If you change the text in A1 to "Monthly Revenue Breakdown," your chart title will update instantly.

Changing Axis Titles and Axis Labels

Clear axis titles and labels are crucial for context. Without them, your audience is just looking at lines and bars with no meaning. It's important to distinguish between editing the title of an axis (e.g., "Sales Region") and editing the individual labels on it (e.g., "North," "South," "East," "West").

Editing Axis Titles

Just like the chart title, editing the axis titles is straightforward. If they already exist, simply click on the "Axis Title" placeholder and type your new text.

If you need to add axis titles:

Select your chart.
Navigate to the Chart Design tab on the ribbon.
Click Add Chart Element.
Hover over Axis Titles and choose Primary Horizontal to add a title for the X-axis or Primary Vertical to add one for the Y-axis.

You can also use the dynamic cell-linking trick for axis titles by selecting the axis title box and typing an equals sign followed by a cell reference in the formula bar.

Editing the Axis Labels (Categories and Values)

Axis labels are the text or numbers that correspond to your data points. For example, in a sales chart, these might be months, product names, or sales figures. Unlike titles, these labels are pulled directly from your source data.

The Easiest Way: Change the Source Data

The simplest and most direct method is to edit the labels in the cells where your chart data lives. If your chart's horizontal axis shows "Q1," "Q2," "Q3," and you want it to say "Quarter 1," "Quarter 2," and "Quarter 3," simply find those labels in your spreadsheet and retype them. Excel will automatically update the chart to reflect the changes. This is the recommended approach because it keeps your data and chart in perfect sync.

Alternative Method: Use 'Select Data' for More Control

Sometimes, your desired labels aren't located right next to your data, or you want to use a different set of labels from your original source table. In these cases, the Select Data Source dialog box is your best friend.

Right-click anywhere on your chart and choose Select Data... from the context menu.
A dialog box will appear. On the right side, under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels, click the Edit button.
A new, smaller window called "Axis Labels" will pop up. The text box for Axis label range: shows the current cells being used for your labels.
Click inside this text box and then drag your mouse to select the new range of cells in your spreadsheet that contains the labels you want to use.
Click OK in the "Axis Labels" window, then click OK again in the "Select Data Source" window. Your chart will update with the new labels.

This method is particularly useful for plotting data that isn't perfectly organized or when you want to label a chart with custom text that isn't part of the main data table.

Customizing Legend Entries (Series Names)

The legend helps distinguish between different sets of data in your chart. For example, if you're plotting website traffic from multiple sources, your legend might show entries for "Organic," "Paid Search," and "Social Media." Just like axis labels, these are typically pulled from your column or row headers.

Method 1: Change the Header in the Source Data

The most reliable way to change a legend label is to update the header cell of the corresponding data series. For example, if your legend shows "Sales_Data_2023," you can go to the cell containing that text in your data table and change it to something more readable, like "2023 Sales." The legend will update automatically.

Method 2: Edit Series Name via the 'Select Data' Dialog

If you can't or don't want to change the source data header, you can override it specifically for the chart legend.

Right-click your chart and select Select Data....
In the left panel, under Legend Entries (Series), you'll see a list of your data series.
Click on the series name you want to change (e.g., "Sales_Data_2023") to highlight it.
Click the Edit button above the panel.
The "Edit Series" window will appear. The Series name: field is what you want to change. You have two options here:
- Type a new name: You can delete the existing cell reference and type your desired name directly into the box, like "Total Sales for 2023."
- Link to a different cell: You can edit the cell reference to point to another cell that contains the name you want to use.
Click OK to confirm, then OK again to close the main dialog box.

Adding and Modifying Data Labels

Data labels display the precise value of each data point directly on your chart, which can save your audience from having to guess values based on the axis. They are incredibly useful for charts with just a few data points or when you want specific numbers to stand out.

How to Add Data Labels to Your Chart

Click on the data series you want to label (e.g., click on one of the bars in a bar chart to select all bars).
Go to the Chart Design tab.
Click Add Chart Element > Data Labels.
Choose a position for your labels, such as Center, Inside End, or Outside End. Excel will instantly add the value of each data point to your chart in the position you chose.

Editing and Customizing Data Labels

Once you've added data labels, you have a huge amount of control over what they show and how they look.

Right-click on any of the new data labels and choose Format Data Labels... from the menu.
This will open the "Format Data Labels" pane on the right side of your screen.
Under Label Options, you'll find "Label Contains." This is where the real power is. You can check boxes to include:

Series Name: Includes the name from the legend.
Category Name: Includes the label from the main axis.
Value: The default, shows the numerical value of the data point.

One of the most powerful but lesser-known features here is Value From Cells. This allows you to create completely custom labels in your spreadsheet and apply them to your data points. Imagine you have a sales chart and in a separate column, you've written custom notes like "Record high!" or "Missed target." By selecting "Value From Cells," you can have those notes appear as chart labels - perfect for adding annotations and telling a deeper story with your data.

Final Thoughts

Mastering chart labels in Excel transforms a basic graph into a clear, professional visual that effectively communicates your message. By learning to modify titles, axes, legends, and data labels - either directly from your source data or through Excel's dedicated chart tools - you gain complete control over your final report.

Manually wrangling data and formatting charts in spreadsheets is often a time-consuming first step in reporting. When that data comes from multiple marketing or sales platforms, the process can quickly become a repetitive headache. We created Graped to automate that entire workflow. Instead of building reports manually, you can instantly connect all your tools - like Google Analytics, Shopify, Facebook Ads, and Salesforce - and create dashboards just by describing what you want to see. This allows you to get live, actionable insights in seconds, skipping the tedious chart formatting altogether.