How to Make Gmail Labels

This article explains how to add, search for, and remove labels for Gmail messages. Gmail labels act as category subfolders so you can keep your email messages organized.

Gmail Label Making Instructions

Gmail uses labels to organize mail. When you label an email in Gmail, you're telling Gmail to display the message in a specific folder-like section of your account.

Making your own Gmail label is very easy. You can do so while filtering messages or via the label option in Gmail's settings. However, below, we'll look at making a new label in Gmail the easiest way: from the email itself.

1. Open a Gmail message and select the Labels icon.

2. Select Create new.

3. Enter a label name, then select Create.

   To put the label within another label for better organization, you can enable Nest label under and choose another label.

Assigning a Label to Multiple Emails

There are a few quick methods for labeling multiple emails at once.

Select the Messages

One method for labeling multiple emails at once is to select each one by putting a check in the box off to the left. Then, select Labels in the menu at the top of Gmail, and check the boxes next to each label those messages to have. Or, use Create new to assign a new label to the emails.

Search for the Emails

You can also use the Search function to pull up a list of messages you'd like to label. This is especially handy if you have a large number of emails that you want to collect under a specific label.

For example, you might search subject:order so that you can gather online orders into your own Online Purchases label. Then, with all of those emails listed, you can use the Select button on the left side of the menu to highlight all of them. Applying one or more labels is as easy as going through the Labels button.

How to Undo a Gmail Label

Removing a label from an email is as simple as using the Label button to uncheck the label. Or, you can select the small x next to the label at the top of the email.

How to Delete a Gmail Label

It's good practice to delete unused and unneeded labels. Labels are a great organization tool, but having too many will clutter your left pane menu and can make Gmail run slowly.

To delete Gmail labels, open the Labels settings via the Gmail menu (Settings > See all Settings > Labels), and then select remove next to the labels.