How do I make a name tracing worksheet?

Type your child's name in the maker above, choose print or cursive, a row size and a design, and download the PDF. You get a full page: the name as a model, rows to trace, rows with the first letter and empty rows to write alone.

Should my child trace print or cursive?

Print first. Children usually learn their name in print letters between 3 and 6, with a capital and then small letters. Joined writing usually comes from Year 3 or 4. Schools teach their own style, so a few letters may differ a little from your school's.

What age are name tracing worksheets for?

Most children start tracing their name at 3 or 4 and write it on their own by 5 or 6. Large rows suit ages 3 to 5; medium rows suit the first years of school.

What are the dots on the letters?

Each dot shows where to start the letter: at the top for most letters, and just right of the top for round ones like a, d and o, which go round to the left. Starting in the right place makes writing faster and neater later. You can turn the dots off.

Can I add a sibling's name or other words?

Yes. Add up to five more words, like a brother's or sister's name, Mum, Dad or your last name. Each gets its own page and we email you the PDF with every page, free. A page with just the name downloads straight away.

Is it free, and does it print on A4?

Yes and yes: it's free with no account, on A4 or US Letter. Print at 100% or “actual size” so the lines keep their size.

Name tracing worksheet maker

A name tracing worksheet is a page of handwriting lines where a child traces their own name and then writes it alone. Type your child's name, choose print or cursive and a design they'll love, and the maker fills an A4 page: the name as a model with a dot where each letter starts, rows in light grey to trace, rows with only the first letter and empty rows. Free, no account.

Free
No account
A4 or US Letter
Print at home

Child's name

Letters

Upright print letters for kindy and the first years of school, with a dot where each letter starts.

Dots where each letter starts

Design

Row size

Rows to trace

Capitals

More words, a page each

A brother or sister, Mum, Dad or your last name. Every page comes by email, free.

More options: colour, paper

Colour

Paper

How to make a name tracing worksheet

Type the name
Type it the way your child will write it: “Isla”, or “ISLA” in capitals. Add up to five more words, like a brother's or sister's name, Mum or your last name, and each gets a page.
Choose the letters
Print for kindy and the first years of school, cursive once they learn joined writing. Pick large rows for ages 3 to 5 or medium for 5 to 7, how many rows to trace, and one of 15 designs or plain.
Print and trace
Download the PDF and print it at 100%. Your child traces the grey letters from each dot, then writes the name alone on the empty rows.

What's on the worksheet

Your child's name as a model, with a dot where each print letter starts
Rows of the name in light grey to trace, then rows with only the first letter
Empty rows to write it alone, all on proper lines: top line, dashed middle line, baseline
Print or cursive letters, in large rows for ages 3–5 or medium for 5–7
Fifteen illustrated designs or plain, on A4 or US Letter

A name tracing worksheet with “Isla’s Name Practice” and a dinosaur at the top: Isla written as a model with start dots, rows of Isla in grey to trace, rows with only the I, and empty handwriting lines — Isla's page in print letters and the dinosaur design.

Print or cursive?

Start with print. Most children learn to write their name in print letters at kindy and in their first year of school, a capital and then small letters, as the worksheet sets it. The letters are upright and simple, with a short tail on a, d, h and t.

Schools in New Zealand teach their own basic style, so a few letters may look a little different from your school's. The way into each letter is the same, and that's what the dots show.

Switch to cursive when your child learns joined writing, usually from Year 3 or 4: each letter joins the next, so the name is written in one go.

How to use it

Show your child the dot where each letter starts and trace the first grey row together, with a finger first and then a pencil or crayon. After the grey rows come the rows with only the first letter, to finish alone, and the empty rows at the bottom.

A few minutes a day is plenty at 3 to 5. Slip the page into a plastic sleeve and use a whiteboard marker, and one worksheet lasts all week.

The same page in print and in cursive

Isla's name tracing worksheet in print letters, with start dots, in the dinosaur design — Print

Isla's name tracing worksheet in joined cursive letters, in the unicorn design — Cursive

Questions

How do I make a name tracing worksheet?: Type your child's name in the maker above, choose print or cursive, a row size and a design, and download the PDF. You get a full page: the name as a model, rows to trace, rows with the first letter and empty rows to write alone.
Should my child trace print or cursive?: Print first. Children usually learn their name in print letters between 3 and 6, with a capital and then small letters. Joined writing usually comes from Year 3 or 4. Schools teach their own style, so a few letters may differ a little from your school's.
What age are name tracing worksheets for?: Most children start tracing their name at 3 or 4 and write it on their own by 5 or 6. Large rows suit ages 3 to 5; medium rows suit the first years of school.
What are the dots on the letters?: Each dot shows where to start the letter: at the top for most letters, and just right of the top for round ones like a, d and o, which go round to the left. Starting in the right place makes writing faster and neater later. You can turn the dots off.
Can I add a sibling's name or other words?: Yes. Add up to five more words, like a brother's or sister's name, Mum, Dad or your last name. Each gets its own page and we email you the PDF with every page, free. A page with just the name downloads straight away.
Is it free, and does it print on A4?: Yes and yes: it's free with no account, on A4 or US Letter. Print at 100% or “actual size” so the lines keep their size.

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