Referencing a cell in the worksheet as the criteria for a formula

[Alagra]

This seems to me like it should be an easy one, but I can't find the answer
anywhere. I am trying to count how many times each of 50 people is named on
a multi-page list. I have been using countif(range)="exact name," which
works fine, but requires writing 50 separate formulas. Is there a way to
replace "exact name" with a reference to a cell which already contains the
name? I tried "=C3" and got a zero total, as it seemed to be searching for
the C3 phrase instead of the contents of the C3 cell. What am I missing in
the syntax here?

 

[Jacob Skaria]

With your data in ColA and unique list of names in ColC starting from Row2;
try the below formula in D2 and copy/drag the formula down as required

=COUNTIF(A:A,C2)

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[Alagra]

Thank you so much, that did work, with one minor change that you probably
intended anyway. My data is in Col E, and the names are in Col A; I wanted
the numbers to list in Col C (this is at the end of the data in a separate
list). I used Countif (E:E, and instead of listing the exact cell I
shift/clicked on the cell containing the name, and got the cell reference,
which changed automatically when I dragged the box. I knew there had to be a
way!
Just for future reference, how does the E:E formula work? I've seen it on
this board, but I don't understand how it defines the range without any rows
specified. Can you explain, please, so maybe I won't have to ask you for help
the next time?
Thanks again.

 

[Jacob Skaria]

E1:E10 defines only 10 cells whereas E:E defines the entire column..

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[Alagra]

Thank you, that makes sense. I do appreciate your help.