🔠 Title Case Converter
Convert text to proper title capitalization
By FontGenio Editorial Team · Last updated: October 12, 2026
Title Case Converter Online
Title case capitalizes the important words in a headline while leaving small words like "and", "the", and "of" lowercase — but the exact rules differ between style guides. This free title case converter — also called a headline case converter — formats your text in AP style, Chicago style, or simple capitalize-every-word mode, live as you type. Paste a headline above to capitalize titles correctly.
Key takeaways
- Three styles: AP (default), Chicago, and Simple (capitalizes every word).
- AP and Chicago lowercase the same 21 minor words — articles, short conjunctions, and prepositions.
- The first and last word are always capitalized, even if they are minor words.
- Input is lowercased first, so ALL-CAPS or random-case text converts cleanly.
- Runs entirely in your browser; free with no signup.
What Is Title Case?
Title case is a capitalization style for headlines and titles in which the first letter of each major word is capitalized. Articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or), and short prepositions (in, of, to) stay lowercase — unless they open or close the title. It is the standard for book titles, article headlines, and YouTube video titles, and it differs from sentence case (only the first word capitalized) and from capitalizing every word.
[IMAGE: Diagram comparing title case, sentence case, and uppercase on the same headline — alt: "Title case versus sentence case versus uppercase capitalization compared"]How This Title Case Converter Works
The tool lowercases your entire input first, then capitalizes word by word according to the selected style:
- AP style (default; the classic AP title case) — capitalizes every word except 21 minor words: a, an, the, and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so, at, by, in, of, on, to, up, as, if, is, it.
- Chicago style — uses the same minor-word list and the same first/last-word rule, so its output matches AP here. (Full Chicago Manual rules add nuances — see limitations.)
- Simple (all words) — capitalizes the first letter of every word with no exceptions.
Two rules apply in AP and Chicago modes: the first and last words are always capitalized, even if they are minor words ("A Tale of Two Cities" — the opening "A" is capped). Conversion is live: the output updates with every keystroke, and Copy copies the result. Extra whitespace between words collapses to single spaces.
Worked Example
Input (deliberately messy casing):
"tHe LoRd OF tHe RiNgS"
| Style | Output |
|---|---|
| AP | The Lord of the Rings |
| Chicago | The Lord of the Rings |
| Simple | The Lord Of The Rings |
"of" and the second "the" stay lowercase in AP/Chicago as minor words, while Simple capitalizes everything. Another: "a tale of two cities" → AP gives "A Tale of Two Cities" — the leading "A" is capitalized because first words always are.
How to Use the Title Case Converter
- Paste or type your headline, title, or heading into the input box.
- Choose a style: AP for journalism-style headlines, Chicago for books and academic titles, Simple for stylized all-word caps.
- Copy the converted result — it updates live as you edit.
AP vs Chicago vs Simple: Which Style?
| Style | Minor words lowercase? | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| AP | Yes (21-word list) | News headlines, blog post titles, press releases |
| Chicago | Yes (same list here) | Book titles, academic papers, formal publications |
| Simple | No — every word capped | YouTube titles, thumbnails, stylized marketing headers |
An honest note: in this tool, AP and Chicago produce identical output — both use the same 21-word minor list and the same first/last-word rule. Real-world Chicago Manual of Style has additional nuances (it capitalizes prepositions regardless of length in some editions, for example). If your publisher enforces strict Chicago, treat this as a 95% solution and check prepositions by hand.
[IMAGE: Flowchart showing how the converter decides whether to capitalize each word: first/last word, minor-word list, style selection — alt: "Title case conversion decision flowchart for AP, Chicago, and simple styles"]Title Case vs Sentence Case
The two headline styles answer different conventions:
- Title case: "The Lord of the Rings" — standard for US headlines, book titles, and YouTube.
- Sentence case: "The lord of the rings" — standard for UK/EU headlines, academic references (APA), and email subject lines.
Neither is "more correct" — match your publication's house style. If you need the opposite transformation, the lowercase converter and uppercase converter handle full-text case changes, and the camelCase converter covers programmer-style casing.
Limitations
- Acronyms are lowercased first: "NASA launches today" becomes "Nasa Launches Today" — restore known acronyms manually.
- Hyphenated compounds: only the first segment's letter is capitalized ("well-known" → "Well-known", not "Well-Known").
- Proper nouns inside the text are lowercased then re-capped normally ("eBay" → "Ebay") — fix brand names by hand.
- AP/Chicago are simplified to the same 21-word list; edge rules of the full style guides (preposition length in Chicago, hyphenated prefixes in AP) are not modeled.
- Multi-sentence input is treated as one title: only the very first and very last words get the positional rule.
Title Case Converter vs Alternatives
| Tool | Best for |
|---|---|
| This title case converter | Headlines with style-guide-aware minor-word rules, live |
| Uppercase converter | ALL-CAPS text |
| Lowercase converter | all-lowercase text |
| CamelCase converter | camelCase, PascalCase, snake_case for code |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I capitalize a title correctly?
Paste your headline into the converter and pick a style. AP and Chicago modes capitalize every word except minor words (a, an, the, and, but, or, in, of, to, ...), while the first and last words are always capitalized.
What is the difference between AP and Chicago title case?
In this tool, none — both use the same 21-word minor list and first/last-word rule, so outputs are identical. The full published style guides differ in edge cases (e.g. Chicago's handling of prepositions), so verify against the manual for strict publishing work.
Which words stay lowercase in title case?
Articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so), and short prepositions (at, by, in, of, on, to, up, as) — plus 'if', 'is', and 'it' in this tool's list. The first and last words are capitalized regardless.
What is title case vs sentence case?
Title case capitalizes major words ('The Lord of the Rings'); sentence case capitalizes only the first word ('The lord of the rings'). US headlines and book titles use title case; UK headlines and APA references typically use sentence case.
Why did 'NASA' become 'Nasa'?
The converter lowercases all input before capitalizing, so acronyms lose their internal capitals. Re-capitalize known acronyms (NASA, FBI, HTML) manually after converting.
Does it handle hyphenated words?
Partially: 'well-known' becomes 'Well-known' — only the first segment is capitalized. If your style guide wants 'Well-Known', adjust by hand.
Can I convert ALL-CAPS text to title case?
Yes — that is one of its best uses. Because input is lowercased first, pasting 'BREAKING NEWS TODAY' gives clean 'Breaking News Today' in Simple mode.
Is my text uploaded anywhere?
No. Conversion runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server or stored.
How do I convert text to camelCase instead?
Use the camelCase converter on this site, which handles camelCase, PascalCase, snake_case, and kebab-case for code and identifiers.