fuzzy match on a column

Copper Contributor

I have 2 columns of data, see test file below. Column A has names of colleges provided by a vendor. Column B has names of colleges from my database. In A many are the same college. I have 700 names in B but they have abbreviations. For example, Sacred Heart University in A and Sacred Heart Univ in B. I need a formula to compare the name in A2 to name in column B and if it's close return back the name in column B. Anyone?

2 Replies

@KMorrison5151 

For the previous versions of Excel it was Fuzzy-Match add-in, but doesn't supported any more. For recent version fuzzy match is built into the Power Query, but it's not very reliable. You may check attached.

@Sergei Baklanthank you for pointing me in the right direction. I will learn how to use Power Query!