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Names["string"]

gives a list of the names of symbols that match the string.

Names[patt]

gives a list of names matching the arbitrary string pattern patt.

Names[{patt1,patt2,…}]

gives a list of names matching any of the patti.

Details and Options
Details and Options Details and Options
Examples  
Basic Examples  
Scope  
Options  
IgnoreCase  
ResolveContextAliases  
SpellingCorrection  
See Also
Tech Notes
Related Guides
Related Workflows
History
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Names

Names["string"]

gives a list of the names of symbols that match the string.

Names[patt]

gives a list of names matching the arbitrary string pattern patt.

Names[{patt1,patt2,…}]

gives a list of names matching any of the patti.

Details and Options

  • Names["string"] gives the same list of names as ?string.
  • Names returns a list of strings corresponding to the names of symbols.
  • The pattern patt can be given as a string with metacharacters, as StringExpression[…] or as RegularExpression["regex"].
  • The string can contain the following metacharacters:
  • *match zero or more characters
    @match one or more characters, but not uppercase letters
  • Names["context`*"] lists all symbols in the specified context.
  • With SpellingCorrection->True, Names includes names that differ in a small fraction of their characters from those specifically requested.
  • With IgnoreCase->True or SpellingCorrection->True, Names treats lowercase and uppercase letters as equivalent when matching names.
  • Names includes any names with a matching context alias by default. With ResolveContextAliasesFalse, only non-aliased matching names will be returned. »
  • Names[] lists all names in all contexts.

Examples

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Basic Examples  (2)

Get the names of symbols starting with List:

Get the names of all system symbols:

The set of those that have the Orderless attribute:

Scope  (3)

Find all 2-character system functions using StringExpression:

Find all 3-character system functions using RegularExpression:

Get all symbols that start with $ or with Plot:

Options  (3)

IgnoreCase  (1)

Ignore the case when doing a search for a name:

ResolveContextAliases  (1)

Names resolves context aliases by default:

Use the ResolveContextAliases option to prevent alias resolution:

SpellingCorrection  (1)

Return closely matching names:

Wolfram Research (1988), Names, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Names.html (updated 2021).

Text

Wolfram Research (1988), Names, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Names.html (updated 2021).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 1988. "Names." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2021. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Names.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (1988). Names. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Names.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_names, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Names}", year="2021", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Names.html}", note=[Accessed: 28-August-2025]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_names, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Names}, year={2021}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Names.html}, note=[Accessed: 28-August-2025]}