Resolution Name Lookup Tool: Find Screen Resolution Names

The Resolution Name Lookup tool takes what you type into the Search by name or dimensions box — a marketing name like "4K" or raw numbers like "1920x1080" — and returns the standard name, aspect ratio, and total pixel count for that resolution. Enter numbers that don't match a standard exactly and you'll still get the closest known resolution back, so you're never left wondering what to call an odd 1366×768 or 3440×1440 panel.

Seen a laptop, TV or computer monitor listed as "WQXGA" and wondered what that means in pixels? The resolution name lookup tool turns the width and height of any screen or display into its standard name, and the table below does the reverse, so you can check specs before you buy. The result you want is the name that matches your pixels, with the image quality it implies.

How the Resolution Name Lookup Tool Works

Every screen resolution is two numbers: the horizontal count of pixels (width) and the vertical count (height), joined by a multiplication sign, as in 1920 x 1080. The name lookup compares your pair against the list of standardized sizes in the tables below and returns the matching name, its aspect ratio and the total pixels. If no exact name exists, it reports the nearest standard so you still know what you are dealing with. A resolution is only a description of the pixel grid, so the name never says anything about panel size, brightness or refresh speed, and the same resolution can appear on a small phone display and a large TV. Use the aspect ratio and the pixels together: the ratio tells you the shape, the pixel count tells you how much detail fits. The free mobile viewport sizes list lets you search and filter results instantly, with no account required.

Entering Width and Height to Get a Resolution Name

Type the width first, then the height, in pixels, and press the button. Take a 2560 x 1600 panel: the pixel count is 4,096,000, the ratio reduces to 16:10, and the name is WQXGA. Because the same image resolution can carry two names in different markets, the result also lists common alternates. A resolution that matches no row exactly is still worth checking, because a custom display or a scaled setting often reports odd values.

$$\text{Total pixels} = \text{width} \times \text{height} \qquad \text{Aspect ratio} = \frac{\text{width} \div g}{\text{height} \div g}$$

Here \(g\) is the greatest common divisor of the two numbers. For 2560 and 1600, \(g = 160\), which gives 16:10. Dividing 4,096,000 by the 2,073,600 pixels of Full HD shows this panel carries about 1.98 times as many pixels.

Reading the Result: Names, Initialisms and Abbreviations

Most names are an initialism built from the older VESA display standard vocabulary: Q means quad or quarter, W means wide, S means super, U means ultra, X means extended. That is why abbreviations such as WQXGA look cryptic, yet they decode into plain words. Marketing shorthand like "4K" or "1080p" is a looser label for the same display resolution, and "p" only describes the vertical count of high definition formats. Learn the VESA letter code once and any resolution name becomes readable: the VESA group set most of the names that monitor makers still use, and the VESA list is why QVGA and its relatives sound alike.

Display Resolution Standards in the VGA Family

The oldest display resolution standards came from IBM-era graphics hardware and early video software. Each new card added a mode, so the family grew into dozens of names: CGA (320 x 200) and EGA (640 x 350) for retro computers, QVGA (320 x 240), HVGA (480 x 320) and WQVGA (400 x 240) for early mobile devices, and the video conferencing formats SQCIF, QCIF and CIF. A CRT monitor ran most of these natively, whereas modern LCD panels scale them. On a legacy list, 480p simply means 640 x 480 or 720 x 480.

From QQVGA to VGA: Early Display Mode Names

Enter 160 x 120 and the lookup resolves it to QQVGA, the smallest of the early modes. A display mode, sometimes called a video mode, pairs the pixel grid with a color depth, and VGA at 640 x 480 became the baseline for video and software for decades. FWVGA (854 x 480) later stretched the format to widescreen for phones, while QVGA and WQVGA were the typical sizes for a basic handset and HVGA sat just above them. Every VGA-derived name works the same way: the VGA part sets the horizontal and vertical pixel grid, and the letter prefix scales it.

SVGA and WSVGA: Between VGA and XGA

Enter 800 x 600 or 1024 x 600 and the lookup returns the matching names listed here. SVGA (800 x 600) raised the VGA ceiling, and WSVGA (1024 x 600) became the standard for small netbooks. Both still show up in embedded and industrial equipment.

Aspect Ratio and Widescreen Display Mode Formats

The aspect ratio is the proportion of width to height, and it decides how a picture is stretched or cropped. Aspect ratios moved from 4:3 to 16:10 and then to 16:9 as the widescreen era replaced the CRT. The aspect ratio of a display is a design choice rather than a law, and each aspect ratio suits different content. A 21:9 ratio now covers ultra-wide screens, and smartphone panels have drifted to 18:9 and taller. Every aspect ratio listed in the table keeps square pixels, so you can trust the ratio column when choosing a screen.

• 4:3 – the format of the CRT monitor and older television sets, now mostly seen in legacy computer screens.
• 16:10 – a widescreen format popular for monitor and laptop displays from 1995 to 2010, and still used for productivity.
• 16:9 – the standard widescreen format for TV, video and most modern monitors since about 2010.
• 21:9 – the ultra-wide format used for gaming and cinema-style viewing.

Multiply the horizontal pixel count by the ratio's height to see the matching vertical size; the ratio and the pixels always agree.

Choosing an Aspect Ratio by Use

After the lookup gives the ratio, use it to choose by content. Pick 16:9 for video and a television, 16:10 for documents and code, and 21:9 for immersive sessions. The diagonal screen size and the viewing distance matter too, because a tall ratio at the same diagonal is physically narrower. Ask which aspect ratio your content uses before you pick a panel, and check the aspect ratio of every video you edit. Mismatched aspect ratios add black bars or crop the picture, so match the screen to the work. The aspect ratio of a monitor and its resolution are tied together: a 16:10 resolution never contains square 16:9 content without bars. Aspect ratios are quick to compute from any width and height.

Ultra-wide Gaming Monitors and Pixel Density

Ultra-wide sizes such as 3440 x 1440 and 2560 x 1080 get their own names in the lookup. Pixel density is pixels per inch, so a 27-inch QHD screen is far sharper than a 27-inch Full HD one. Divide the diagonal pixel count by the diagonal length in inches to get it; high pixel density makes text crisp, and every aspect ratio can be sharp or soft depending on density.

Native Resolution and Image Scaling Refresh Rate Limits

The native resolution is the physical grid of the panel. Running any other resolution forces image scaling, which blurs fine text, so keep a native screen resolution set whenever you can. A device that uses a simple multiple of the software setting, such as a Retina display, renders finer details with the same layout. Display makers list the native resolution first because it sets the sharpest resolution the screen can show. The lookup shows the native pixel grid, not the signal your computer sends, so sharpness and quality depend on which resolution is actually set. Scaling is a way to match size, not to add real detail. The LCD panel in a laptop screen or monitor is made of a fixed grid, so a native image is always the cleanest, and the VESA timing rules only describe the signal, not the panel. Compare the native pixels to the format your computer sends: a screen that gets a non-native image will resample it and lose some quality.

Unsystematic Resolutions and Other Display Standard Gaps

Not every size has a formal title. Odd resolutions such as 1366 x 768 or 1280 x 854 come from vendor choices rather than a published display standard, so some rows appear in several tables under different names, and a resolution can sit between two standards. For those sizes the lookup reports the nearest standard name and flags the match as unofficial. A display mode can also change with a driver update. When a size has no name at all, quote the exact pixels and the display resolutions around it instead of inventing a label.