How Do You Alphabetize Names and Titles?

To alphabetize a list, first decide which part of each entry controls its position. That might be a surname, a book title, or the words on a folder label. Then compare the letters from left to right, continuing until you reach the first difference.

The alphabet is familiar; the sorting convention is where mistakes happen. A contact list, library catalog, and school bibliography may not apply identical rules. Follow the required system, or choose and record a consistent approach for your own list.

Compare beyond the first letter

Consider these invented folder labels: Map, Marble, Market. All start with Ma. Their third letters are p, r, and r, so Map comes first. Marble and Market remain tied through Mar; b comes before k, putting Marble before Market.

If one word ends while the other continues with the same letters, put the shorter one first: Art before Artist. Do not stop checking just because you have gathered everything under its first letter. An A–Z group still needs sorting within the group.

For a long paper list, make small initial-letter groups first. Then compare entries inside each group. This reduces the number of items you need to examine at once without changing the final order.

Choose letter-by-letter or word-by-word order

The Government of Canada’s alphabetizing guide distinguishes two common methods. Letter-by-letter sorting compares the letters across spaces. Word-by-word sorting compares whole words in sequence, moving to the next word when necessary.

Two original labels show why that matters:

• Letter by letter: Greenhouse, Green Room. After Green, h comes before r.
• Word by word: Green Room, Greenhouse. The complete first word Green comes before the longer word Greenhouse.

Neither sequence is a random mistake. Each follows a different method. Punctuation also has special treatment in formal systems, so do not improvise rules for every apostrophe, hyphen, or comma. Use the instructions for the list you are making.

Sort personal names by the intended name field

For a surname-based list, compare surnames before given names. If two surnames match, compare the given names next. Buena Vista University’s MLA guide explains this sequence for author entries.

Here is a fictional surname-first list:

1. Bell, Zoe
2. Reed, Anna
3. Reed, Ben

Anna does not move ahead of Zoe simply because A comes before Z: the surnames determine the first grouping. Within Reed, Anna comes before Ben.

Do not identify a surname by blindly taking the final word of every name. Naming traditions differ, and not everyone has a family name in the same form. The W3C’s guide to personal names explains why assumptions about name order and structure cause problems. Use verified name fields or ask how the person should be listed.

For prefixes such as de or von, follow the applicable convention and established usage. Yale Library’s style guidance explicitly considers individual preferences and established forms. Keep the person’s actual spelling intact even if your sorting system uses a separate filing form.

Decide how to handle titles beginning with articles

In MLA-style title alphabetization, an initial A, An, or The does not control placement. However, those words remain part of the displayed title. The MLA Style Center explains that distinction.

Under that convention, these invented titles would appear in this order:

1. The Amber Door
2. An Evening Map
3. A Quiet Harbor

The sorting words are Amber, Evening, and Quiet. This does not mean deleting every small word throughout a title, or assuming that every app follows MLA rules. Numeric titles and titles in other languages may require additional instructions.

Check a computer-generated sort

Software sorts the data it receives, not your unstated intention. A full-name field may sort by the given name. A title field may place The under T. Use a separate sorting column when you need a different key while preserving the original display text.

In a spreadsheet, keep each entry’s related cells together. Microsoft’s sorting guidance warns that sorting only part of a range can separate values from their original records. Review the first few entries, duplicate surnames, and unusual titles afterward. A consistent list should help someone find the entry, not make them guess which rule changed halfway through.