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Some names are really popular. You might have four Davids in your Contacts on iPhone and no clear way to tell them apart. If you have a lot of contacts with the same name, this tip will help you tell them apart and keep your Contacts organized. Also, this tip is helpful when sending iMessages, since a select contact only shows the first name of the recipient. Here’s how to organize Contacts with the same name.
Related: How to Merge Duplicate Contacts
There are two parts to this tip. First you need to edit the contact cards of those with the same name. This is not a tip on combining duplicate contacts, rather a way to differentiate different people’s contacts with the same name. To do this:
- Open the Contacts or Phone app. If opening the Phone app, navigate to Contacts.
- Find the Contacts with the same first names.
- One by one, open each of their contact cardss and tap Edit in the upper right corner.
- Scroll down and select add field.
- Choose Nickname.
- Scroll back up to the top, there will be a new box under Last Name labeled Nickname.
- Give that person a Nickname. For example, if you have multiple Davids you might make their nicknames David D. and David A. to differentiate by last name.
- Tap Done.
- Once you’ve given your contacts with the same names different nicknames, move on to part two.
The second part of this tip is changing a setting. To do this:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendar.
- Tap Short Name.
- Toggle on Prefer Nicknames.
*note: these screenshots were taken with iOS 10 beta; there may be slight differences in appearance but overall tip instructions are the same.
Top image credit: Ellica / Shutterstock.com
