Method 1: one SVG with every name
- Paste the list. Open the name cut file maker and paste the names one per line, or copy the column from your order spreadsheet.
- Choose the font and how to size. Same width makes every name exactly as wide as you type, Same height makes them equally tall, and Fit a box keeps each name inside the same rectangle, which is the right choice when a short name like Mia shouldn’t come out huge.
- Check the list under the mat. It shows each name’s finished size and flags any name that would cut into more than one piece. Dots on i and j are always separate.
- Download the SVG and upload it. In Design Space choose Upload, then Upload Image, and pick the file. Cricut’s help page says SVG and DXF files “upload as designed”, and a file made with layers arrives as a grouped image that you can ungroup to move each layer on its own. Each name is one layer.
- Check one size. Select one name and compare its width and height in the edit bar with the list. They should match to the hundredth of an inch.
- Make It. Design Space now lays the names out on the mat itself (see below). For iron-on, turn on Mirror for each mat on the Prepare screen.
Method 2: by hand in Design Space
- Paste the list into one text box with a script font, one name per line.
- Split it. Use Ungroup to Lines under Format, which Cricut describes as moving “your lines of text into separate text boxes”.
- Close the gaps. Lower the Letter Space until the letters overlap. Cricut’s text help says that in fonts from the kerned filter, letters that touch or overlap weld automatically at the cut step. Letters that don’t touch stay separate, so nudge them, ungroup if you must, then select the name and Weld; Weld is permanent.
- Size each name. Keep the proportions locked and type the width or height for every name in turn.
- Make It, and turn on Mirror for each iron-on mat.
| What you do | Method 1 (one SVG) | Method 2 (Design Space only) |
|---|---|---|
| Type or paste the names | Once | Once |
| Fix letters that don’t touch | Done for every name (Join letters) | Each name, by eye |
| Weld | Done for every name | Automatic for touching letters in kerned fonts; otherwise each name |
| Set the size | Once for the whole list | Each name |
| Fonts you can use | Five open-licence fonts, or any TTF or OTF on your computer | Design Space and system fonts |
| Cost | Free up to 10 names per file; Pro $15 once | Free |
What Design Space does to your layout
When you press Make It, Design Space cuts in material saver mode and places the images “as close together as possible to conserve material”, in Cricut’s words. That ignores the layout you uploaded, which is fine for names: it packs them tightly and you can drag them around on the Prepare screen. If you want the names exactly where they are on the canvas, select them and use Attach, which holds cuts “in the same position relative to each other on the cutting mat as in the Canvas”.
Two limits worth knowing. An uploaded SVG can hold at most 5,000 paths; this tool writes one path per name (two with a backing layer), so that limit only matters past a few thousand names. And Mirror has to be switched on for each mat separately; Design Space can’t mirror several mats at once.
How many names fit on a mat
We laid out 40 popular first names, from Ava to Theodore, in Pacifico with the tool’s default 0.25 in margin and 0.25 in gap, keeping the list order.
| Sizing | Name heights | On one 12 × 12 in mat | 12 × 24 in mats for all 40 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Same width, 2 in | 0.46 to 1.84 in | 40 | 1 |
| Same width, 3 in | 0.70 to 2.76 in | 21 | 2 |
| Same height, 1 in | 1.00 in | 31 | 1 |
| Fit a 3 × 1 in box | 0.70 to 1.00 in | 34 | 1 |
Same width makes short names tall: at 3 in wide, Ivy is 2.76 in tall while Charlotte is 0.70 in. That is why Fit a box packs better.
Print Then Cut names
To print the names in colour and have the machine cut around them, upload the SVG as above and change each layer’s operation from Basic Cut to Print Then Cut. The printable area is smaller than the paper because the sensor marks need room. Cricut lists these maximum sizes for the Maker and Explore series:
| Paper | Maximum vertical | Maximum horizontal |
|---|---|---|
| Letter, 8.5 × 11 in | 9.94 in | 7.44 in |
| A4, 210 × 297 mm | 10.62 in | 7.2 in |
The cuttable area isn’t a full rectangle: the corners are kept for the sensor marks, so a design that uses the full height may not get the full width. Pro adds both areas as layout sizes.
When a batch goes wrong
| What you see | Why | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Letters fall apart after cutting | They overlapped on screen but weren’t welded, or didn’t quite touch | Weld each name, or upload names made with Join letters on |
| “File Too Large” on upload | More than 5,000 paths in the SVG | Split the list into two files |
| Names sit in a different order on the mat | Material saver mode | Attach before Make It, or move them on the Prepare screen |
| Iron-on names come out backwards | Mirror was off for that mat | Turn Mirror on for every iron-on mat |
| The dot on an i is missing | It is a separate small piece and was weeded away | Weed around dots slowly, or cut the names with a backing layer |
Sources, last checked 8 October 2026: Cricut Help, How to upload images into Design Space (edited 30 March 2026); Design Space: Working with Text (edited 14 August 2026); How to use Attach in Design Space (edited 2 October 2024); Using Combine, Slice, and Weld; How to mirror your design in Design Space (edited 11 August 2026); How large can I Print Then Cut? (edited 19 August 2026). Mat counts: our own layout run with the tool on 8 October 2026.