Allow Contacts to Display as “Last, First” in Outlook for Mac

Mark Bond 0 Reputation points
2026-10-28T16:21:12.66+00:00

Outlook for Mac currently provides four options for sorting contacts: Name, First, Last, and Company. While the “Last” sort correctly orders contacts alphabetically by last name, the names are still displayed in the format “First Last.”

Please add an option to display contacts as “Last, First” when sorting by last name, or restore the traditional File As / Display As functionality that has long been available in Outlook for Windows.

For users who work with large contact lists or corporate directories, displaying names as “Last, First” makes scanning and locating contacts significantly faster and more intuitive. This has been a standard and familiar workflow in Outlook for Windows for many years, and its absence in Outlook for Mac is a noticeable gap in functionality.

An ideal implementation would include:

  • A display preference for “Last, First” in the People/Contacts view.
  • The ability to edit a contact’s File As or Display As value.
  • Consistent behavior across Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and Outlook on the web.

This request is not about changing the sort order. Outlook for Mac already sorts correctly by last name. The missing feature is the ability to display contacts in the same “Last, First” format that many professionals rely on every day.

Thank you for considering this enhancement.

Outlook | MacOS | New Outlook for Mac | For business
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  1. Ryan-N 16,940 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-10-28T16:42:47.5666667+00:00

    Hi Mark,

    Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

    Thank you for taking the time to share this valuable feedback.

    To help ensure that your feedback reaches the application development team more effectively, I recommend submitting your comments and suggestions through Microsoft’s official Feedback portal.

    This is where Microsoft collects feedback, suggestions, and input from users. If a suggestion receives significant engagement and support from the community, it can help Microsoft better understand users’ needs and expectations and consider the suggestion for future updates or features.

    Once again, thank you for sharing your valuable feedback.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread. 

     

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  2. AI answer

    2026-10-28T19:09:55.79+00:00

    Outlook for Mac does not currently document a “Last, First” display format or an editable File As field, so submit this enhancement through Help > Feedback > Suggest a Feature in new Outlook for Mac.

    Microsoft documents contact sorting by display name, first name, last name, and ascending or descending order, but not a separate name-display format setting.^1^ The documented contact editor similarly provides First Name, Last Name, and other contact details without a File As field.^2^

    Submit the feature request

    1. Update Outlook for Mac to the latest available version.
    2. In Outlook, select Help > Feedback.
    3. Choose the option to make a suggestion.
    4. Request these as distinct requirements:
      • Display saved contacts as Last, First independently of sort order.
      • Add an editable File As or equivalent display-name field.
      • Apply the preference consistently in People, search results, and contact selection.
      • Clarify separately whether the preference should affect organizational directory entries.
    5. Include a screenshot showing that Sort by Last orders contacts correctly but still renders each entry as First Last.

    The suggestion option in Give Feedback is specifically available in new Outlook for macOS, and submissions go directly to the applicable product team.^3^

    This is a feature gap rather than a sorting or synchronization fault, so resetting Outlook, recreating contacts, or changing the existing Last sort option would not provide the requested display format.

    References

    1. Outlook for Mac features | Microsoft Support
    2. Create contacts in Outlook for Mac | Microsoft Support
    3. How do I give feedback on Microsoft 365? | Microsoft Support
    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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  3. Hornblower409 18,685 Reputation points
    2026-10-30T05:49:01.2866667+00:00

    Feedback Request created by @Mark Bond that anyone can Vote for and Comment on.

    Allow Contacts to Display as “Last, First” in Outlook for Mac
    https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/241c4541-ecd2-f111-aad1-7c1e529a102d
    (You must open the Feedback Portal link and "Sign In" at the top right of the Feedback page before you can vote).

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