How do I make a line chart with month names as X-Axis labels?

Question

I have a table of population amounts recorded sporadically by date. I want to make a line chart in Excel that displays the population data over time with day-specific information but with the X-axis labeled by month and year.

So for example, if I have the following data:

| Date       | Population |
|------------|------------|
| 2024-01-10 | 1274       |
| 2024-01-18 | 1294       |
| 2024-02-12 | 1340       |
| 2024-02-15 | 1323       |
| 2024-03-05 | 1368       |

I want my chart to look like the following:

However, when I select my data and insert a line chart with markers, it shows individual dates as my x-axis labels instead.

How do I change the X-Axis of my line chart to show month names and years instead?

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 16 '25 at 17:25

Use the Format Axis menu to set your Minimum Bound to the start of the month, change your Major Unit to 1 month, and set a custom date format of mmm yy.

Insert a line chart for your data. (Insert > Charts > Line Chart)
Right click the x-axis on the line chart and select "Format Axis"
On the "Format Axis" sidebar on the right, click the Axis Options icon.
In the Axis Options submenu, set your Minimum Bound to the first day of the first month of your data (In this case, 2024-01-01)
Still in Axis Options, set the Major Units to 1 month
Open the Number submenu, enter the Format Code mmm yy, and click "Add"

How do I make a line chart with month names as X-Axis labels?

1 Answers1