Microsoft Excel’s Format Cells feature supports Excel users to show dates in many custom styles as you need, including the abbreviated day of weeks or months. Please do as follows:

1. Right click the dates you will show as abbreviated day of weeks or months, and select the Format Cells from the right-clicking menu. See screenshot:

2. In the opening Format Cells dialog box, please go to the Number tab, click to highlight the Custom in the Category box, and then type the format code into the Type box. See screenshot:

Note: For showing dates as abbreviated day of week, please type the format code DDD into the Type box; for showing dates as abbreviated month, please type MMM.

3. Click the OK button to apply the new custom date formatting.

And now selected dates are shown as abbreviated day of weeks or abbreviated months at once. See screenshot:

Apart from the Format Cells feature, you can also apply formulas to format date as abbreviated day of weeks or abbreviated months in Excel. Please do as follows:

Select a blank cell beside original dates, enter the formula =TEXT(A2,"MMM") (A2 is the date cell you will show as abbreviated day of weeks or months) into it, and then drag this cell’s AutoFill Handle to the range as you need.

Notes:
(1) For formatting dates as abbreviated month with only one letter, such as J, please apply this formula =LEFT(TEXT(A2,"MMM"),1).
(2) For formatting dates as abbreviated day of week, please apply these formulas: =TEXT(A2,"DDD") or =CHOOSE(WEEKDAY(A2), "Su", "M", "Tu", "W", "Th", "F", "Sa").

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And then the dates have been formatted and shown as abbreviated month or day of week. See screenshot:

Formula is too complicated to remember? Save the formula as an Auto Text entry for reusing with only one click in future! Read more…     Free trial

Actually, Kutools for Excel provides a cute Apply Date Formatting utility to help Excel users easily format dates as abbreviated day of weeks or abbreviated month with several clicks in Excel. Please do as follows:

1. Select the dates you will format as abbreviated day of weeks or abbreviated month, and click Kutools > Format > Apply Date Formatting.

2. In the opening Apply Date Formatting dialog box, please select the Mar (abbreviated month) or Wed (abbreviated day of week) in the Date formatting box, and click the Ok button.

And now all selected dates are formatted and shown as abbreviated month or abbreviated day of week immediately.

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