Change List View Name Display Order from 'Last Name, First Name' in Salesforce Classic

Why a Formula Field Is Needed

Salesforce Classic does not provide a direct setting to change the name display order in List Views. To show names in "First Name, Last Name" order, you create a custom Formula field that builds a hyperlink combining the record's FirstName and LastName fields. You then add this Formula field to your List View columns in place of the standard Name field.

Step 1: Navigate to Object Fields and Relationships

In Salesforce Lightning (Object Manager):

1. Go to Setup and open Object Manager.
2. Select Contacts, Leads, Person Accounts, or Users.
3. Select Fields and Relationships.
4. Click New.

In Salesforce Classic:

1. Click Setup, then Customize.
2. Select Contacts, Leads, Person Accounts, or Users.
3. Select Fields.
4. Under "OBJECT NAME Custom Fields and Relationships," click New.

Step 2: Create a Formula Field

1. Select Formula as the field type, then click Next.
2. Enter a name in the Field Label and Field Name fields.
3. Under Formula Return Type, select Text, then click Next.
4. In the Simple Formula field, enter the appropriate formula for your object type.
   1. For Contacts, Leads, or Users, enter: HYPERLINK("URL"& Id , FirstName & " " & LastName)
   2. For Person Accounts, enter: HYPERLINK("URL"& Id , PersonContact.FirstName & " " & PersonContact.LastName)
   3. Example: If your Salesforce instance URL is "https://ap1.salesforce.com/" then your "Users" formula will be HYPERLINK("https://ap1.salesforce.com/"& Id , FirstName & " " & LastName)
5. Enter descriptive text in the Description and Help Text fields, then click Next.
6. Set Field-Level Security options, then click Next.
7. Select a Page Layout to add the field to, then click Save.

Step 3: Add the Formula Field to a List View

After creating the Formula field, add it to a List View column so that names display in "First Name, Last Name" order. Refer to Salesforce List View documentation for the steps to edit List View columns.