=COUNTIF(A:A,"the_name")

--

HTH

RP
(remove nothere from the email address if mailing direct)


"Richard Neville" wrote in message
nk.net...
Not exactly quick and dirty, but this should work: copy the spreadsheet
within your Excel document. Sort by name, which will return an
alphabetical
listing. Using the Subtotals function (at each change in name), generate a
count by name. If you just need to know the name with the maximum count,
you
can scroll through the sheet to find this, or use the MAX function for the
column containing the counts.

"KR" wrote in message
...
I have a list of thousands of names, and I need to check and find out the
maximum number of times any name is repeated (I don't care what the name
is,
just need to know the maximum number).

Does anyone have a quick and dirty formula (or array formula) that would
tell me the largest number of repeats?

Thanks!
Keith

--
The enclosed questions or comments are entirely mine and don't represent
the
thoughts, views, or policy of my employer. Any errors or omissions are
my
own.