Sorting only a name column can leave telephone numbers, dates or amounts beside the wrong person. The result may look orderly while the records are no longer trustworthy. Treat the entire row as a unit when those cells describe one record.

Save a copy before sorting an unfamiliar workbook. Identify the full list, including columns off to the right and any hidden rows or columns. Separate unrelated notes or totals from the records you intend to sort.

Check the selected range and its heading row

In desktop Excel, select the complete data range and use the sort controls for the intended column. In a custom sort, set My data has headers correctly so a heading is not moved into the records, or a real first record excluded as if it were a label.

If Excel warns about sorting only part of a range, use Expand the selection when the neighbouring columns belong to the same records. Microsoft warns that continuing with a smaller selection can disassociate those values. Do not rely on a warning appearing in every possible sheet layout.

For a properly defined Excel table, use its column sort controls while keeping the table’s record structure. Confirm that all relevant columns are actually inside that table.

Verify identity, not merely alphabetical order

Before the sort, note two or three distinctive records using a stable reference, such as an order ID. Afterwards, find those IDs and compare their related names, dates and amounts with the saved original.

Also confirm that the record count and expected total remain unchanged. Those checks alone cannot detect every mismatch, which is why the row-level comparisons matter.

If the records are separated, use Undo immediately while it is available or return to the intact copy. Do not attempt to repair associations by sorting individual columns back independently unless you have a reliable key and a controlled reconciliation method. A neatly sorted column is not evidence that the list’s relationships survived.

References: Microsoft: sorting ranges and tables.