Find WordPress category ID by category name using SQL

Problem:

You need the wordpress category ID for a given category name (e.g. My category), e.g. for a shortcode filter.

Solution:

You can use a SQL statement to find the correct category for your term (i.e. the category name, My category). Run this statement in your database administration interface, e.g. phpmyadmin.

SELECT termtax.term_taxonomy_id FROM wp_terms AS terms JOIN wp_term_taxonomy AS termtax ON terms.term_id = termtax.term_id WHERE terms.name = "My category"

Replace My category at the end by the category name you’re looking for.