In SQL Server, you can use the TYPE_NAME() function to return the name of a data type, based on its ID. This can be useful when querying a system view such as sys.columns that returns the type’s ID but not its name.

You can use TYPE_NAME() for system data types and user-defined data types.

Example 1 – Basic Usage

Here’s a basic example to demonstrate how it works.

SELECT TYPE_NAME(34) AS Result;

Result:

+----------+
| Result   |
|----------|
| image    |
+----------+

This result tells us that the type ID of 34 is used for the image type.

Example 2 – A More Useful Example

Here’s a more useful example.

USE Music;
SELECT 
  o.name AS [Object Name], 
  c.name AS [Column Name],  
  TYPE_NAME(c.user_type_id) AS [Type Name]  
FROM sys.objects AS o   
JOIN sys.columns AS c  ON o.object_id = c.object_id
WHERE o.type_desc = 'USER_TABLE';

Result:

+---------------+---------------+-------------+
| Object Name   | Column Name   | Type Name   |
|---------------+---------------+-------------|
| Artists       | ArtistId      | int         |
| Artists       | ArtistName    | nvarchar    |
| Artists       | ActiveFrom    | date        |
| Artists       | CountryId     | int         |
| Genres        | GenreId       | int         |
| Genres        | Genre         | nvarchar    |
| Albums        | AlbumId       | int         |
| Albums        | AlbumName     | nvarchar    |
| Albums        | ReleaseDate   | date        |
| Albums        | ArtistId      | int         |
| Albums        | GenreId       | int         |
| Country       | CountryId     | int         |
| Country       | CountryName   | nvarchar    |
+---------------+---------------+-------------+

This query returns user tables, along with their columns and the data type for each column.

Here’s what it looks like if I remove TYPE_NAME():

USE Music;
SELECT 
  o.name AS [Object Name], 
  c.name AS [Column Name],  
  c.user_type_id 
FROM sys.objects AS o   
JOIN sys.columns AS c  ON o.object_id = c.object_id
WHERE o.type_desc = 'USER_TABLE';

Result:

+---------------+---------------+----------------+
| Object Name   | Column Name   | user_type_id   |
|---------------+---------------+----------------|
| Artists       | ArtistId      | 56             |
| Artists       | ArtistName    | 231            |
| Artists       | ActiveFrom    | 40             |
| Artists       | CountryId     | 56             |
| Genres        | GenreId       | 56             |
| Genres        | Genre         | 231            |
| Albums        | AlbumId       | 56             |
| Albums        | AlbumName     | 231            |
| Albums        | ReleaseDate   | 40             |
| Albums        | ArtistId      | 56             |
| Albums        | GenreId       | 56             |
| Country       | CountryId     | 56             |
| Country       | CountryName   | 231            |
+---------------+---------------+----------------+

It’s not as easy to read the type ID.

Example 3 – User-Defined Types

User-defined types are included. Here’s an example that includes a user-defined type alias in the results.

USE Test;
SELECT 
  o.name AS [Object Name], 
  c.name AS [Column Name],  
  TYPE_NAME(c.user_type_id) AS [Type Name],
  CASE 
    WHEN t.is_user_defined = 1 THEN 'Yes'
    ELSE 'No' 
  END AS [User Defined?]
FROM sys.objects AS o   
JOIN sys.columns AS c  ON o.object_id = c.object_id
JOIN sys.types t ON c.user_type_id = t.user_type_id
WHERE o.type_desc = 'USER_TABLE'
AND o.name = 'Client';

Result:

+---------------+---------------+-------------+-----------------+
| Object Name   | Column Name   | Type Name   | User Defined?   |
|---------------+---------------+-------------+-----------------|
| Client        | ClientCode    | clientcode  | Yes             |
| Client        | FirstName     | varchar     | No              |
| Client        | LastName      | varchar     | No              |
+---------------+---------------+-------------+-----------------+

Example 4 – Using TYPE_NAME() in a WHERE Clause

You can use TYPE_NAME() (and any other system function) in a WHERE clause (and anywhere an expression is allowed).

Here, I modify the previous example so that I use TYPE_NAME() in the WHERE clause.

USE Test;
SELECT 
  o.name AS [Object Name], 
  c.name AS [Column Name],  
  TYPE_NAME(c.user_type_id) AS [Type Name],
  CASE 
    WHEN t.is_user_defined = 1 THEN 'Yes'
    ELSE 'No' 
  END AS [User Defined?]
FROM sys.objects AS o   
JOIN sys.columns AS c  ON o.object_id = c.object_id
JOIN sys.types t ON c.user_type_id = t.user_type_id
WHERE TYPE_NAME(c.user_type_id) = 'clientcode';

Result:

+---------------+---------------+-------------+-----------------+
| Object Name   | Column Name   | Type Name   | User Defined?   |
|---------------+---------------+-------------+-----------------|
| Client        | ClientCode    | clientcode  | Yes             |
+---------------+---------------+-------------+-----------------+

Example 5 – Invalid Type ID or Insufficient Permission

If you provide an invalid type ID or you don’t have sufficient permission to reference the type, the result will be NULL.

SELECT TYPE_NAME(258) AS Result;

Result:

+----------+
| Result   |
|----------|
| NULL     |
+----------+

Get the Type ID

If you already know the data type’s name, but you want its ID, you can use TYPE_ID() to return the ID of a data type based on its name.