You can use the length() function to see how long column values in a table are as follows:
mysql> insert into andrews_table values ('Joe');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)
mysql> insert into andrews_table values ('Fred');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)
mysql> insert into andrews_table values ('Brian');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)
mysql> insert into andrews_table values ('Andrew');
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)
mysql> select col1, length(col1) from andrews_table;
+--------+--------------+
| col1 | length(col1) |
+--------+--------------+
| Andrew | 6 |
| Brian | 5 |
| Fred | 4 |
| Joe | 3 |
+--------+--------------+
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)
mysql>
