How to name different lines in the same plot of Matplotlib?

To name different lines in the same plot of matplotlib, we can use the label parameter in the plot() method and display them with legend(). This helps distinguish between multiple data series on the same plot.

Steps to Name Different Lines

• Set the figure size and adjust the padding between and around the subplots.

• Create data points for different lines.

• Plot each line using plot() method with unique label parameter.

• Add a legend to display the line names using legend().

• Display the figure using show() method.

Example

Here's how to plot multiple lines with different names ?

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.rcParams["figure.figsize"] = [7.50, 3.50]
plt.rcParams["figure.autolayout"] = True

points1 = [2, 4, 1, 5, 1]
points2 = [3, 2, 0, 4, 3]

plt.plot(points1, 'g--', label="Line A")
plt.plot(points2, 'r-o', label="Line B")
plt.legend()

plt.show()

The output shows two distinct lines with their respective names in the legend ?

Customizing Legend Position

You can control the legend position using the loc parameter ?

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

data1 = [1, 3, 2, 4, 2]
data2 = [2, 1, 3, 2, 4]

plt.plot(data1, 'b-', label="Dataset 1", linewidth=2)
plt.plot(data2, 'm--', label="Dataset 2", linewidth=2)

plt.legend(loc='upper right')
plt.title('Multiple Lines with Custom Legend')
plt.xlabel('X-axis')
plt.ylabel('Y-axis')

plt.show()

Common Legend Positions

Conclusion

Use the label parameter in plot() and call legend() to name different lines in matplotlib. This creates clear, readable plots with properly identified data series.