So, you’ve gotten a new iPhone and managed to transfer your contacts to it? Neat! Upon opening your list of contacts, however, you may have noticed something. Are they out of order? Why are all the last names in bold? What’s going on?
iOS likes to arrange your contacts list by the first letter of their last name, that’s what. No biggie, we can very quickly change that.
Go to Settings → Contacts. Check out the top two menu items.
If you want your contacts to be sorted by the first letter of their first name, make sure that Sort Order is set to “First, last”. Display Order is self-explanatory — “John Appleseed” or “Appleseed, John”.
You will now notice that, in your contacts list, the first names of people are in bold. So, if you are more of an informal person and less buseness-y, this should make it easier for you to scroll through.
The Short Name menu
Inside Short Name, you’ll notice a few naming options, where the iPhone can show you either only the first name or the nickname of a contact (if available). However, this doesn't really work for your contacts list. Short Names only appear on phone calls, texts, and in the call history menu. Your Contacts list will always display the full names of people, as well as any titles, prefixes, and suffixes you might have entered for them.
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Preslav, a member of the PhoneArena team since 2014, is a mobile technology enthusiast with a penchant for integrating tech into his hobbies and work. Whether it's writing articles on an iPad Pro, recording band rehearsals with multiple phones, or exploring the potential of mobile gaming through services like GeForce Now and Steam Link, Preslav's approach is hands-on and innovative. His balanced perspective allows him to appreciate both Android and iOS ecosystems, focusing on performance, camera quality, and user experience over brand loyalty.
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