Initials Avatar Generator

Turn any name into a letter avatar: one or two initials on a coloured circle, square or rounded square, saved as a PNG from 32 to 1024 pixels.

Runs in your browserFree, no sign-upLast reviewed October 8, 2026

Fill in the settings to see your result here.

Your result appears here instantly — nothing is uploaded.

Quick answers

How do I make a profile picture with my initials?: Type your name in the Name field, choose a size, two colours and a shape, then download the PNG. Two-word names give two letters, such as JS for Jordan Smith. The file uploads anywhere a normal profile photo does.
Which letters does the avatar use?: The first character of the first word and the first character of the second word, in capitals. Any further words are ignored, so Mary Jane Watson gives MJ, not MW. A single word gives one letter. An empty Name field gives a question mark.
How do I get specific initials, such as first and last name only?: Type only the words you want counted, or type the letters themselves with a space between them. Entering M W produces MW. Entering MW with no space produces just M, because the tool reads it as one word.
What size should a profile picture avatar be?: It depends on where it is shown. Sites usually display avatars small and scale a larger upload down, so a 256 or 512 pixel square is a safe choice for uploads. Use the exact pixel size only when you are placing the image straight into a layout.
Does the circle avatar have a transparent background?: Yes. With Circle or Rounded square, only the shape is painted, so the corners of the PNG stay transparent and the avatar sits cleanly on any page colour. The Square shape fills the whole image.
Is the avatar different every time?: No. The picture depends only on the name, size, colours and shape you enter. The same settings always produce an identical image, so one person keeps the same avatar wherever you generate it.

About Avatar Generator

Type a name and this tool draws its initials on a coloured shape and gives you a PNG to download. It takes the first character of the first two words, so Ada Lovelace becomes AL and a single word such as Cher becomes C. You choose the pixel size (32 to 1024, always square), the background colour, the text colour and one of three shapes: circle, square or rounded square. The image is drawn on a canvas in your browser, so the name is never uploaded. Nothing is random: the same name, colours and shape give the same picture every time, which is what you want for a default profile picture that has to stay consistent.

Which initials you get from a name

The name is split at spaces and the first character of the first two words is capitalised. These results follow directly from that rule.

Name typed	Initials drawn	Why
Ada Lovelace	AL	First letter of each of the two words
Cher	C	One word, so one letter
ada lovelace	AL	Letters are capitalised for you
Mary Jane Watson	MJ	Only the first two words count
Jean-Luc Picard	JP	A hyphenated name is one word
Maria de la Cruz	MD	The second word is de
O'Brien	O	The apostrophe does not start a new word
42 Labs	4L	Digits are used as they are
M W	MW	Typing letters with a space sets them directly
(empty)	?	No words, so a question mark is drawn

The download is named after the initials in lower case, for example avatar-al.png.

Avatar sizes in pixels and the letter size at each

The letters are drawn at 40% of the image size and the rounded square uses a corner radius of 18% of the size. Sizes outside 32 to 1024 are rejected.

Size (px)	Font size of the letters	Rounded corner radius	Typical use
32	13 px	5.76 px	Comment threads, table rows, small UI lists
48	19 px	8.64 px	Chat messages and navigation bars
64	26 px	11.52 px	Cards and member lists
96	38 px	17.28 px	Profile headers on mobile
128	51 px	23.04 px	Profile pages and directories
256	102 px	46.08 px	Default; general-purpose upload
512	205 px	92.16 px	Uploads that will be shown on high-density screens
1024	410 px	184.32 px	Largest size; print or very large displays

For a sharp result on high-density screens, generate at two or three times the size it will be displayed at.

Background colours that keep white initials readable

Contrast ratios are calculated with the WCAG formula. Large text needs at least 3:1 and normal text needs 4.5:1, and avatar letters shown at small sizes benefit from the higher figure.

Background colour	Hex	Contrast with white text	Contrast with dark text #111827
Indigo (default)	#6366f1	4.47:1	3.97:1
Blue	#2563eb	5.17:1	3.43:1
Purple	#7c3aed	5.70:1	3.11:1
Red	#dc2626	4.83:1	3.67:1
Pink	#db2777	4.60:1	3.86:1
Teal	#0d9488	3.74:1	4.74:1
Green	#16a34a	3.30:1	5.38:1
Slate	#334155	10.35:1	1.71:1
Amber	#f59e0b	2.15:1	8.26:1
Yellow	#facc15	1.53:1	11.58:1
Light grey	#e5e7eb	1.24:1	14.33:1

On amber, yellow and light grey backgrounds, switch Text colour to a dark value. White letters on those are hard to read at any size.

What the tool draws, and what it leaves out

The avatar is a single flat colour with the initials centred in your system's default sans-serif font at regular weight. Because it uses the font already on your device, the letterforms can look slightly different on Windows, macOS and Android, although the layout and colours are the same.

The output is PNG only. There is no SVG export, no gradient or pattern background, no border ring, no font or weight choice, and no automatic colour picked from the name: you set both colours yourself. It makes one avatar at a time, so a set for a whole team means changing the name and downloading again for each person.

Names in scripts without capital letters work as typed, for example 李小龙 gives 李小. Emoji and some rare symbols are not supported as initials and may show as an empty box.

Where a letter avatar is the right choice

Default profile pictures in a mockup, demo or prototype, so empty accounts do not show a broken image.
Team pages, org charts and directories where some people have no headshot.
A personal icon for a forum, chat app or code host when you would rather not use a photo.
Test data for an avatar component: check one letter against two, and a 32 pixel render against a large one.
Contact lists and CRM records, using one background colour for every person so the set looks deliberate.

How to use it

1
Type a full name or the exact letters you want into the Name field.
2
Set Size (px) to the width and height you need, anywhere from 32 to 1024.
3
Pick a Background colour and a Text colour that contrast clearly.
4
Choose a Shape: Circle, Square or Rounded square.
5
Check the Initials and Size shown under Details, then download the PNG.

Questions people ask

Can I make an avatar with a single letter?

Yes. Type one word or one letter in the Name field and the avatar shows only that character. A second letter appears only when there is a space followed by another word.

Can I get three initials?

No. The tool draws at most two characters, taken from the first two words. A third word is ignored, and typing three letters without spaces gives only the first one.

What file format is the download?

A PNG with the exact width and height you set, for example 256 by 256 pixels. PNG keeps the edges of the letters sharp and supports the transparent corners of the circle and rounded square shapes.

Is my name sent to a server?

No. The image is drawn in your browser and the download is created locally. The page does not need to send the name anywhere to produce the picture.

Why does my square upload still appear as a circle on some sites?

Many sites crop every profile picture to a circle when they display it. If you upload the Square shape, the site's own crop decides the outline. Square is usually the better choice for sites that crop, because it leaves no transparent corners for the crop to expose.

Can I add a photo or logo behind the initials?

No. This tool only produces initials on a plain colour. To crop or resize an existing photo into a profile picture, use an image cropper or resizer instead.

How do I keep avatars consistent across a team?

Keep the size, shape and text colour fixed and change only the name. Either use one background colour for everyone or assign each person a fixed hex code and record it, since the tool does not choose colours automatically.