What is the correct filing order for the following four names? (1) John C. Riley (2) John Corbett-Riley (3) J. C. Riley (4) John Riley II

What is the correct filing order for the following four names? (1) John C. Riley (2) John Corbett-Riley (3) J. C. Riley (4) John Riley II

• A. 3, 4, 1, 2
• B. 2, 3, 4, 1
• C. 2, 4, 3, 1
• D. 2, 3, 1, 4

Answer: (D)

Filing by name follows a last-name-first rule, treating hyphenated last names as a single unit and ignoring punctuation for the sort key. Within the same surname, you sort by given name, using initials when present, and you place suffixes after the core name. Here, the hyphenated surname Corbett-Riley starts with C, which comes before any Riley, so John Corbett-Riley is filed first. Among the remaining Riley entries, the given name part is "J." in J. C. Riley and "John" in John C. Riley. In alphabetical ordering, the initial J comes before the full name John, so J. C. Riley comes before John C. Riley. Finally, John Riley II shares the same base name as John C. Riley; the suffix II is ignored in sorting, so John Riley II goes after John C. Riley. So the correct filing order is: John Corbett-Riley, J. C. Riley, John C. Riley, John Riley II.

Filing by name follows a last-name-first rule, treating hyphenated last names as a single unit and ignoring punctuation for the sort key. Within the same surname, you sort by given name, using initials when present, and you place suffixes after the core name.

Here, the hyphenated surname Corbett-Riley starts with C, which comes before any Riley, so John Corbett-Riley is filed first. Among the remaining Riley entries, the given name part is "J." in J. C. Riley and "John" in John C. Riley. In alphabetical ordering, the initial J comes before the full name John, so J. C. Riley comes before John C. Riley. Finally, John Riley II shares the same base name as John C. Riley; the suffix II is ignored in sorting, so John Riley II goes after John C. Riley.

So the correct filing order is: John Corbett-Riley, J. C. Riley, John C. Riley, John Riley II.