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matplotlib tutorial
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Python plotting

How to add a title to each subplot

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Introduction

In Matplotlib, each subplot in a figure can have its own title set with ax.set_title('Title'). The figure itself can have an overall title set with fig.suptitle('Main Title'). When using plt.subplots() to create a grid of axes, iterate over the axes array and call set_title() on each. Proper spacing with plt.tight_layout() or fig.subplots_adjust() prevents titles from overlapping with neighboring subplots.

Basic Subplot Titles

python
1import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
2import numpy as np
3
4fig, axes = plt.subplots(1, 3, figsize=(12, 4))
5
6x = np.linspace(0, 2 * np.pi, 100)
7
8axes[0].plot(x, np.sin(x))
9axes[0].set_title('Sine Wave')
10
11axes[1].plot(x, np.cos(x))
12axes[1].set_title('Cosine Wave')
13
14axes[2].plot(x, np.tan(x))
15axes[2].set_title('Tangent Wave')
16
17plt.tight_layout()
18plt.show()

set_title() places a title centered above each subplot.

Figure Title + Subplot Titles

python
1fig, axes = plt.subplots(2, 2, figsize=(10, 8))
2
3# Overall figure title
4fig.suptitle('Trigonometric Functions', fontsize=16, fontweight='bold')
5
6data = [
7    (np.sin, 'Sine'),
8    (np.cos, 'Cosine'),
9    (np.tan, 'Tangent'),
10    (lambda x: np.sin(x) + np.cos(x), 'Sin + Cos'),
11]
12
13x = np.linspace(0, 2 * np.pi, 100)
14
15for ax, (func, title) in zip(axes.flat, data):
16    ax.plot(x, func(x))
17    ax.set_title(title)
18
19# Adjust spacing so suptitle doesn't overlap subplot titles
20plt.tight_layout(rect=[0, 0, 1, 0.95])
21plt.show()

fig.suptitle() creates a title for the entire figure. The rect parameter in tight_layout() reserves space at the top.

Customizing Title Appearance

python
1fig, axes = plt.subplots(1, 3, figsize=(12, 4))
2
3x = np.linspace(0, 10, 100)
4
5# Font size and weight
6axes[0].plot(x, x**2)
7axes[0].set_title('Quadratic', fontsize=14, fontweight='bold')
8
9# Color and font style
10axes[1].plot(x, np.sqrt(x))
11axes[1].set_title('Square Root', fontsize=14, color='red', fontstyle='italic')
12
13# Position and padding
14axes[2].plot(x, np.log(x + 1))
15axes[2].set_title('Logarithm', fontsize=14, pad=20)  # Extra space above plot
16
17plt.tight_layout()
18plt.show()

Title Alignment

python
1fig, axes = plt.subplots(1, 3, figsize=(12, 4))
2
3axes[0].set_title('Left Aligned', loc='left')
4axes[1].set_title('Center (Default)', loc='center')
5axes[2].set_title('Right Aligned', loc='right')
6
7plt.tight_layout()
8plt.show()

The loc parameter accepts 'left', 'center' (default), or 'right'.

Dynamic Titles in Loops

python
1fig, axes = plt.subplots(2, 3, figsize=(15, 8))
2
3datasets = ['Sales', 'Revenue', 'Profit', 'Customers', 'Orders', 'Returns']
4x = np.arange(12)
5
6for ax, name in zip(axes.flat, datasets):
7    y = np.random.randint(10, 100, size=12)
8    ax.bar(x, y)
9    ax.set_title(f'{name} by Month', fontsize=12)
10
11plt.tight_layout()
12plt.show()

Using axes.flat converts a 2D array of axes into a 1D iterator, making it easy to loop over all subplots.

Titles with plt.subplot (Older API)

python
1plt.figure(figsize=(12, 4))
2
3plt.subplot(1, 3, 1)
4plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [1, 4, 9])
5plt.title('Plot 1')
6
7plt.subplot(1, 3, 2)
8plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [1, 2, 3])
9plt.title('Plot 2')
10
11plt.subplot(1, 3, 3)
12plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [9, 4, 1])
13plt.title('Plot 3')
14
15plt.suptitle('All Three Plots')
16plt.tight_layout()
17plt.show()

plt.title() sets the title for the current subplot when using the stateful pyplot interface.

Seaborn Subplot Titles

Seaborn builds on Matplotlib, so the same set_title() method works:

python
1import seaborn as sns
2import pandas as pd
3
4tips = sns.load_dataset('tips')
5
6fig, axes = plt.subplots(1, 2, figsize=(12, 5))
7
8sns.histplot(data=tips, x='total_bill', ax=axes[0])
9axes[0].set_title('Distribution of Total Bill')
10
11sns.scatterplot(data=tips, x='total_bill', y='tip', ax=axes[1])
12axes[1].set_title('Tip vs Total Bill')
13
14plt.tight_layout()
15plt.show()

FacetGrid Titles

Seaborn's FacetGrid and catplot set titles automatically. Customize them with set_titles():

python
1g = sns.FacetGrid(tips, col='time', row='smoker')
2g.map(sns.histplot, 'total_bill')
3g.set_titles('{col_name} | {row_name}')
4plt.show()

Preventing Title Overlap

python
1fig, axes = plt.subplots(3, 3, figsize=(12, 10))
2
3for i, ax in enumerate(axes.flat):
4    ax.plot([0, 1], [0, 1])
5    ax.set_title(f'Subplot {i + 1}')
6
7# Method 1: tight_layout (automatic)
8plt.tight_layout()
9
10# Method 2: Manual adjustment
11# fig.subplots_adjust(hspace=0.4, wspace=0.3)
12
13# Method 3: constrained_layout (set at figure creation)
14# fig, axes = plt.subplots(3, 3, figsize=(12, 10), constrained_layout=True)
15
16plt.show()

tight_layout() automatically adjusts spacing. For finer control, use subplots_adjust(hspace=..., wspace=...) where hspace is vertical spacing and wspace is horizontal spacing.

Common Pitfalls

  • Titles overlapping with adjacent subplots: Without plt.tight_layout() or constrained_layout=True, subplot titles can overlap with the axes of neighboring rows. Always call tight_layout() before show().
  • Using plt.title() instead of ax.set_title(): plt.title() only works on the current active subplot. When working with the object-oriented API (fig, axes = plt.subplots()), use ax.set_title() to avoid setting the title on the wrong subplot.
  • suptitle hidden behind subplot titles: The figure-level suptitle can overlap with the top row of subplot titles. Use plt.tight_layout(rect=[0, 0, 1, 0.95]) to reserve space at the top.
  • Iterating over axes when it's 2D: plt.subplots(2, 3) returns a 2D array. Use axes.flat to iterate over all axes in a single loop, or axes.flatten() to get a 1D array.
  • plt.subplots(1, 1) returns a single Axes, not an array: With a single subplot, axes is an Axes object, not an array. Use fig, axes = plt.subplots(1, 1) and access axes directly, or use squeeze=False to always get an array.

Summary

  • Use ax.set_title('Title') to add a title to each individual subplot
  • Use fig.suptitle('Title') for an overall figure title
  • Customize titles with fontsize, fontweight, color, loc, and pad parameters
  • Use axes.flat to iterate over all subplots when setting titles in a loop
  • Call plt.tight_layout() to prevent titles from overlapping with adjacent subplots
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