Question

Is there a proper alphabetical index

Answer 1

Sort of -- you can see the indexes for each letter, for example: https://www.wikitree.com/indexes/person/A/

Answer 2

Hi Mary!  Welcome to the one world WikiTree!  Thanks for joining us.

Not sure what you mean by proper alphabetical index.  There is our Help Index:  https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Help:Help_Index

And you can search for any surname and then sort the list alphabetically:  https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Special:Surname&s=HART&cln=&order=name&secondary_order=&layout=comfortable&u=

I hope this helps!  Kitty 

Comments

There needs to be an Alphbetical list of names & surnames. Surely this is a basic requirement. It seems then that one has to re-sort the Index to achieve a result. It is very extraordinary and inconvenient.

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Why would it be a basic requirement?  On my watchlist the profiles I manage are alphabetical, but I have no need to see every single profile on WT.

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Perhaps I am just used to it.  Part of the problem with an alpha list of surnames is the spelling.  On WikiTree, because we all share the profiles, we use the spelling that the person would have used him/her self.  For instance, I have ancestors with the name Pennypacker.  That name has been spelled numerous ways.  If you look to the upper right side of this list, you will see the many different spellings and the number of profiles with that spelling.  https://www.wikitree.com/index.php?title=Special:Surname&s=PENNYPACKER&cln=&order=name&secondary_order=&layout=comfortable&u=

What name are you specifically looking for?  Perhaps we can help.  

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Perhaps I worded things badly and have been misunderstood. Normally in life whe one consults an index of names there is first listed the Surname followed by either First name or initials. Perhaps I am the only person who finds it very difficult indeed to be confronted with multiple alternative spellings in the name WikiTree Index. Watchlists are not at all the same as the main Wikitree Index.

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Kitty thank you for offering to help. No I am not consulting the Index just now but merely wondering why Wikitree is different from worldwide conventions,

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I think Kitty explains the spelling differences quite well.  There are going to be multiple variations on names, depending on how they we spelt at the time. 

I have ancestors whose last name was Purves,  but it was also frequently spelt as Purvis (and that's just an easy one).

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It is kind of you to offer to help. It's ok though I will consult my cousin here in Wikitree. I am staying in her house so she will be able to assist me. Apologies for asking annoying questions.

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Also, we are talking about languages that use the alphabet such as English, but WikiTree is a worldwide family tree and we have members of many different languages, including languages that don't use the alphabet for their writing system.  It would be difficult to appropriately alphabetize languages that don't use the alphabet.  Just another reason surnames aren't in an alpha list on WikiTree.

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Your questions are not annoying.  If you need answers, you first need to ASK questions!

Answer 3

Your question is perfectly understandable and reasonable.  A similar question was asked five years ago:  https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/152452/could-we-make-one-general-index-wikitree-alphabetical-order.  You may wish to review that discussion as I don't think much has changed.

Answer 4

If you know what surname you want an alpha index of...go to the very top of any profile on WikiTree, put that surname in the last name search box (leave the first name box empty.) Click on the magnifying glass to search. You will get a page with only persons with that surname. At the top of that list is a group of "Quick Llinks." The second quick link is "Alpha Order." Click on that link. The page lists up to 1000 profiles with that surname in alpha order. (It's not last name first like you requested, but it is alpha order.) Depending on the surname, the full list of people with that surname may require scrolling through several pages OR you can click the link on the right-hand side of the page which says "Show all xxx names."

Repeat from the beginning as needed for alternate spellings of the surname.