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How to sort full names alphabetically by last name in Word document?

Author: Xiaoyang Last Modified: 2024-08-09

In Word document, we can quickly sort a list of names alphabetically by using the Sort function, and all the names will be sorted by the first name. But, have you ever tried to sort the full names based on the last name in Word?

Sort full names based on the last name with Sort function in Word document


Sort full names based on the last name with Sort function in Word document

In Word document, to sort a list of names by last name, please do with the following steps:

1. Select the names list, and then click Home > Sort, see screenshot:

Sort button on the Home tab on the ribbon

2. In the Sort Text dialog box, click Options button, see screenshot:

Sort Text dialog box with Options button highlighted

3. In the Sort Options dialog box, in the Separate fields at section, select the separator that between the names, in this case, I will choose Other option, and then type a space into the box, see screenshot:

Sort Options dialog box

4. Then click OK to return the Sort Text dialog, here, you should select Word 2 from the Sort by drop down list, and then specify the sort order as you need, see screenshot:

Sort Text dialog with Word 2 highlighted on the Sort by dropdown

5. And then click OK to close the dialog box, and now, you can see the full names have been sorted by their last names as following screenshot shown:

Names sorted by their last names


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