Alphabetize This List

How to alphabetize this list

Start with one item per line, then click Sort. The default is A–Z, ignoring differences between uppercase and lowercase letters. Your original text stays in the input box, and the ordered list appears in the result box. Copy takes only the result, without labels or instructions.

For a different order, open Sort rules. Choose Z–A for descending alphabetical order, or switch to a name, title, number or length rule. Reverse flips the sequence you supplied; it does not alphabetize an unsorted list. Shuffle gives the same items a random order.

The Words and Names examples let you try two common tasks. They replace the input, so copy any text you want to keep before choosing an example. If you change your list or settings afterward, sort again to update the result.

Sort names by last name

Use the Last name rule for a roster or guest list written as first name followed by surname. For example, Ada Cedar, Ben Aspen and Cara Birch become Ben Aspen, Cara Birch and Ada Cedar. Their displayed names stay intact; only their positions change.

For an entry written as “Cedar, Ada,” the text before the comma is the sorting key. For a name without a comma, the tool uses the final word after ignoring common suffixes such as Jr. and III. A compound surname may need a different arrangement in your source list. The tool cannot reliably infer every family's naming convention.

Open the sorting-key preview to inspect the first 20 items before copying. It shows the original entry, the key used and its new position. This is particularly useful when ignoring a word or sorting a name that could be interpreted in more than one way.

Put references in alphabetical order

A citation alphabetizer sorts references you already have. Paste complete entries, choose the References preset and keep a whole entry together. When a reference spans several lines, separate entries with blank lines and choose that input format. A comma inside an author name should remain part of the reference.

The reference mode can ignore an opening quotation mark when ordering an entry. It preserves the supplied wording, authors and dates. It does not look up missing information, create citations or verify APA, MLA or Chicago style. Check the requirements for your assignment or publication separately.

Text copied from a PDF can contain unwanted line breaks. A warning may suggest checking your entry boundaries, but it is a prompt to inspect the text, not a reliable count of complete citations. Use the preserved input and key preview to check the result.

Choose how items are separated

New lines, commas, tabs, spaces and custom separators can all define list items. Auto detection starts with line breaks when they are present. If you have several names on separate lines, a comma within “Last, First” should not split each name into two items.

Input and output separators are independent. You can turn a column into a comma-separated list, or put separated words onto individual lines. If automatic detection chooses the wrong format, set the separator explicitly and sort again.

For a spreadsheet row with several fields, use Column mode and choose the column that should determine the order. The other fields move with that row. Quoted CSV fields can contain commas; malformed quotes produce an error rather than a silently shortened list. A local UTF-8 text, CSV or TSV file can also fill the input box.

Check numbers, accents and symbols

Alphabetical and numerical ordering answer different questions. A lexical comparison can place item10 before item2. Numeric-aware ordering compares the number parts so item2 comes first. Length ordering compares how long each item is, rather than where it belongs in the alphabet.

Language-sensitive sorting uses the selected language's comparison rules. Accented letters can have different positions in different languages. Character order is a separate option for a strict character comparison. Neither choice guarantees the exact order used by every spreadsheet or database.

Punctuation stays in your text unless you explicitly remove it. You can ignore punctuation for sorting without deleting it from the result. Inspect a small sample if your list contains symbols, mixed scripts or identifiers where a particular order matters.

Clean and format your result

Remove duplicates keeps the first matching item. Its case setting determines whether entries such as Apple and apple count as the same. Trimming spaces and removing empty entries are separate choices. The result report shows the number of entries kept, duplicates or blanks removed, and entries whose text changed.

Optional formatting adds numbering, letters, Roman numerals, prefixes or suffixes. You can also strip HTML or produce list markup as text. Markup is copied as text and is not executed. These changes affect the exported result, so review it before replacing an existing list.

For a glossary or directory, enable alphabetical headings to group the output under A, B, C and other initial letters. Entries beginning with digits or symbols appear under #.

Undo and Redo step through recent results. Clear empties the current list; it is different from resetting your sort settings. To change only a section, select it in the input and enable selection-only processing before running the operation.

Copy, download and local processing

Copy places the current result on your clipboard. If browser permissions prevent that, select the result and use your device's copy command. Download saves a UTF-8 text file. Print opens a text-only print view, which you can check in your browser's print preview.

List processing and file reading happen in your browser. A settings link contains supported sorting options, not your list or custom text fields. The website may still use analytics and advertising; local tool processing is not a claim that the whole website sends no data.

The input limit is 500,000 character units (some symbols count as two) and 20,000 items. Larger operations within those limits use a background worker after you click Sort. Cancel stops the operation and keeps your previous result. Oversized input is rejected instead of being silently cut off.

For a simple case change, use the Lowercase Text Generator. To inspect unusual characters in an imported list, open the UTF-8 Text Converter.

Browse All Text Tools for other ways to work with your text.