Try this array formula** :

=INDEX(B1:J1,MATCH(MAX(SUMIF(B1:J1,B1:J1,B2:J2)),S UMIF(B1:J1,B1:J1,B2:J2),0))

** array formulas need to be entered using the key combination of
CTRL,SHIFT,ENTER (not just ENTER). Hold down both the CTRL key and the SHIFT
key then hit ENTER.

Note that if more than one person has the highest total the formula will
return the leftmost name with the highest total.

--
Biff
Microsoft Excel MVP


"Ben" wrote in message
...
That works if you have a static list of 5 people & treat all evenly. I
have a
simliar problem but i have an open list of participants and also want to
assign points/weighting. Here is my data:

A B C D E F G H I
1 Tom Frank Sue Bert Gary Sue Tom Sue Bert
Pts 3 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 1

What i want to see is what is the most common name for event 1 (A1 to I1)
but also apply weighting/points to the event. So if A1, D1 & G1 equals 3
points then B1, E1 & H1 = 2 points & C1, F1 & I1 - 1 points. So your Index
formula works to show who is mentioned the most = Sue. But I want to see
who
has the most points for the event = Tom.

Hope this is clear. Any help would be much appreciated as i have been
going
through the lists manually and compiling.

"T. Valko" wrote:

Try this array formula** :

=INDEX(A2:A24,MODE(MATCH(A2:A24,A2:A24,0)))

** array formulas need to be entered using the key combination of
CTRL,SHIFT,ENTER (not just ENTER). Hold down both the CTRL key and the
SHIFT
key then hit ENTER.

Copy across as needed.

--
Biff
Microsoft Excel MVP


"Darren" wrote in message
...
I have 3 columns of 24 cells headed 'gold' 'silver' and 'bronze'. each
of
the
24 cells could have 1 of 5 answers depending on other calculations
elsewhere
on the sheet. What function can I put into cell 25 of each column to
count
to
most common name? Or to put it another way, to see who won most golds,
silvers and bronzes out of the 5 people?