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Microsoft Excel
Sort Month Names in Correct Order 

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© 2009 DJH Training & Application Solutions Inc - Updated 2022

QUESTION:  I have a column of months, but when I try to sort them chronologically, I end up with them in alphabetical order, with April before January. How can I sort them correctly?​

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ANSWER:  Full and abbreviated months are included automatically in Excel Custom Lists. We will use one of the month choices to sort correctly:

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  1. Click in a single cell in your data, then click the Sort button on the Data tab > Sort & Filter group. 

     Hint:  Right-click the Sort button to add it to your Quick Access Toolbar

Sort by month 1.png

 2.  Select the column that contain the months in the Sort by drop-down, then select Custom List... from the Order drop-down

sort by month 2.png

 3.  Select the abbreviated or full month name list from the Custom lists options, depending on which matches your data, and click OK.

Sort by month 3.png
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