I have both first name and surname in one cell, ie. Mary Byrne and want to
sort my list of names by surname first. Is it possible to divide the cells
into two or is it possible to sort by surname when both names are in the
cell..

1. Select the column containing the names you want to sort.
2. Click on the Data tab in the ribbon at the top of the Excel window.
3. Click on the Text to Columns button in the "Data Tools" group.
4. In the "Convert Text to Columns Wizard" dialog box, select Delimited and click Next.
5. In the "Delimiters" section, select Space and click Next.
6. In the "Data preview" section, you should see that Excel has split the names into two columns - one for first name and one for surname. Click Finish.
7. You should now have two columns - one for first name and one for surname. If you want to, you can delete the original column containing the names.
8. Select the two columns (first name and surname) that you want to sort by.
9. Click on the Sort & Filter button in the "Editing" group on the "Home" tab.
10. In the "Sort & Filter" drop-down menu, select Sort A to Z or Sort Z to A, depending on whether you want to sort by ascending or descending order.

You need to separate the name and surname to sort. First highlight the column
and go to Data at the top, Text to Columns, choose Delimited with, the choose
tab and choose space, then next and finish.

"Louise" wrote:

I have both first name and surname in one cell, ie. Mary Byrne and want to
sort my list of names by surname first. Is it possible to divide the cells
into two or is it possible to sort by surname when both names are in the
cell..

Hi there,

Thank you so much.. you have made my life so much easier.. I have been
working with a list of over 600 people and not being able to sort them
alphabetically by surname was just a nightmare.. once again.. thank you for
your answer.. my list is all sorted and looking good!!

Best wishes
Louise..

"Pokey" wrote:

You need to separate the name and surname to sort. First highlight the column
and go to Data at the top, Text to Columns, choose Delimited with, the choose
tab and choose space, then next and finish.

"Louise" wrote:

I have both first name and surname in one cell, ie. Mary Byrne and want to
sort my list of names by surname first. Is it possible to divide the cells
into two or is it possible to sort by surname when both names are in the
cell..