QUOTENAME (Transact-SQL)

Article
05/23/2023

Applies to: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Managed Instance Azure Synapse Analytics Analytics Platform System (PDW) SQL analytics endpoint in Microsoft Fabric Warehouse in Microsoft Fabric

Returns a Unicode string with the delimiters added to make the input string a valid SQL Server delimited identifier.

Transact-SQL syntax conventions

Syntax

QUOTENAME ( 'character_string' [ , 'quote_character' ] )

Note

To view Transact-SQL syntax for SQL Server 2014 (12.x) and earlier versions, see Previous versions documentation.

Arguments

'character_string'
Is a string of Unicode character data. character_string is sysname and is limited to 128 characters. Inputs greater than 128 characters return NULL.

'quote_character'
Is a one-character string to use as the delimiter. Can be a single quotation mark ( ' ), a left or right bracket ( [] ), a double quotation mark ( " ), a left or right parenthesis ( () ), a greater than or less than sign ( >< ), a left or right brace ( {} ) or a backtick ( ` ). NULL returns if an unacceptable character is supplied. If quote_character is not specified, brackets are used.

Return Types

nvarchar(258)

Examples

The following example takes the character string abc[]def and uses the [ and ] characters to create a valid SQL Server delimited identifier.

SELECT QUOTENAME('abc[]def');

Here is the result set.

[abc[]]def]
  
(1 row(s) affected)

Notice that the right bracket in the string abc[]def is doubled to indicate an escape character.

The following example prepares a quoted string to use in naming a column.

DECLARE @columnName NVARCHAR(255)='user''s "custom" name'
DECLARE @sql NVARCHAR(MAX) = 'SELECT FirstName AS ' + QUOTENAME(@columnName) + ' FROM dbo.DimCustomer'

EXEC sp_executesql @sql

Examples: Azure Synapse Analytics and Analytics Platform System (PDW)

The following example takes the character string abc def and uses the [ and ] characters to create a valid SQL Server delimited identifier.

SELECT QUOTENAME('abc def');