You can use the setNames function in R to set the names of an object and return the object.
This function uses the following basic syntax:
setNames(object, nm)
where:
- names: The name of the object
- nm: A character vector of names
The following examples show how to use this function in different scenarios.
Example 1: Use setNames with Vector
Suppose we create the following vector in R with names:
#create vector
data #create names for vector
names(data) #view vector
data
points rebounds blocks steals
1 3 4 4 We can create this exact same vector with names by just using the setNames() function:
#create vector with names
data #view vector
data
points rebounds blocks steals
1 3 4 4
By using just one line, we’re able to create the exact same vector with names.
Example 2: Use setNames with List
The following code shows how to use the setNames function to create a list with specific names in R and return the list:
#create list with names and return list
setNames(list(c(1, 2), 3:6, c('A', 'B')), c('points', 'steals', 'team'))
$points
[1] 1 2
$steals
[1] 3 4 5 6
$team
[1] "A" "B"
Notice that a list is returned with the names that we specified using the setNames function.
Also note that you can type the following into R to read the complete documentation for the setNames function:
?setNames Additional Resources
The following tutorials explain how to perform other common operations in R:
How to Change Row Names in R
How to Loop Through Column Names in R
How to Use the names Function in R