Comments on: Getting Excel to count the number of repititions in a column?

Question: Getting Excel to count the number of repititions in a column?

Autarky — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:32:06 -0800

Excel Filter : I've got a list of a lot of names. All the names are in one column with a different name on each row. The names repeat a varying number of times. How can I get Excel to count how many times each name repeats and then put that number in a column next to the name?

Basically, each row is an entry with a name and a few other various pieces of information. Some names have as many as 8 entries, and some only have 1 or 2. In a column next to each name I need Excel to put how many entries there are for that name (ie, how many times it repeats throughout the database). The COUNTA function does something like this, but I have to do it one name at a time, and I'm working with a spreadsheet that contains thousands of names. How can I get excel to do this automatically?

By: pompomtom

pompomtom — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:38:21 -0800

If I follow you:

=countif(A:A,A1)

will tell you the number of instances of whatever's in A1 in column A. Stick that in column B and fill down.

By: mss

mss — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:57:17 -0800

Take a look at ASAP Utilities. A free add on to excel that does a lot of these types of things. Specifically under information it has a lot of counting functions.

By: Autarky

Autarky — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:11:14 -0800

the COUNTIF function worked. Thanks a ton.