Gmail 101: How to Sort Emails
If you have not been living completely off-grid these past few years, you probably know of Gmail. It is a brilliant, reliable tool that has become an integral part of modern man's everyday routine. Unfortunately, despite its brilliance, it falls short when it comes to providing straightforward solutions to organize one’s email.
Unlike desktop email applications, Gmail lacks a sorting mail feature that guides users on sorting emails by sender name, date, subject, and other parameters. Instead, these vital functionalities got replaced with a universal search box. You must use various search operators to locate the necessary communications, making it increasingly challenging to locate past and even more recurring emails.
Fortunately, there are simple solutions available that offer more control over message organization and retrieval.
Clean Email, the best email sorter, makes it easier to manage your inbox while also keeping your data safe and protecting your privacy. With that, here is a comprehensive guide that shows you how to sort mails, particularly: how to sort Gmail by date, how to sort Gmail by subject, and how to sort Gmail by name.
How to Sort Gmail by Date
To get it out of the way, we begin by tackling the most complicated way to sort mails: How to sort Gmail by date. However complex, Gmail sort by date is not impossible; you only need to follow these steps:
- To begin, use the calendar and date inside fields to define the start and end dates. It will present the date range based on when the provided date falls “after” or “before.”
- The filter will then return multiple pages of emails, depending on the criteria you provided.
- It takes a while to sort throughout every page in the selected date range. So, go to the URL bar and look for the page number of the current page of dated emails. It is simple to change such that it only looks at emails from a certain date range.
- Continue adjusting the page value until you have the exact date range you want.
How to Sort Gmail by Subject
Unlike sorting mails by date, how to sort Gmail by subject is relatively easier. You only need to follow these steps:
- Bring up other possible search options by going to Google's search bar. One of the boxes enables you to search by topic.
- The subject will appear in the "has the words" field as soon as you type it into the search box. To continue, simply copy-paste it into the Subject box and click Search.
- All emails now sort in the email display based on the subject. If this is still too broad, you may narrow it down to messages filtered to a certain inbox or tagged with a certain label.
- If the message you are looking for is still not in your inbox, you can also scan Spam and Trash in this way.
How to Sort Gmail by Name
After learning how to sort Gmail by date and subject, it is time to learn how to sort Gmail by sender. If you want your emails sorted by name, you must effectively utilize the Gmail search functionality. Take note that you cannot arrange your entire email account or inbox by the sender; rather, you can search to retrieve all messages from a specific sender to have Gmail sort by name.
- To begin, type the sender's name into the search box.
- You can look for the sender's name in your Google contacts if you cannot recall it. When you type a few initials into Gmail, it displays the sender’s email address and name. Select “show search results” from the magnifying glass icon.
- Now, Gmail filters will display in a new pop-up window. In the “has the words” section, you will see the sender's name, which you may copy and paste into the “from” section. To continue, click Search.
- Gmail will now display only emails sent by the specific sender you specified. They are nicely grouped in date sequence, starting with the most recent, older.
- Additionally, by choosing “Create filter,” you can create filters for your searches and have certain actions taken automatically when you receive emails that fit the set criteria.
Clean Email: The Answer to How to Sort Emails
Clean Email is a bulk email cleaner that you may use online. If your inbox gets clogged with unread (learn how to sort unread emails in Gmail) and undesirable emails, the app's Smart Folders feature makes it simple to manage and arrange them. Smart Folders are pre-configured filters that organize messages into email groups based on similarities they have.


Clean Email's Unsubscriber feature sends unsubscribe requests on your behalf. The app also helps you to unsubscribe from undesired email lists that do not even have an Unsubscribe link.


Furthermore, Auto Clean allows you to apply specific rules and actions to emails that appear in your inbox without having to do any manual work. For example, preserve all social network notifications, mark them as read, and get a daily summary to go over what you missed. Alternatively, when emails reach a specific duration, you can archive them automatically.


Ultimately, Clean Email makes it easier to sort Gmail by subject, date, and name, as well as to sort Gmail by size, offering a wealth of benefits that allows users to save time, stay organized, and reduce the stress of having to deal with loads of emails.
To sort emails using Clean Email you need to:
- Launch the app and log into your mailbox.
- Click the All Mail or Inbox section located at the left pane.
- Click the Group By... filter located under the search box and choose Sender (name and email), Sender Domain, Subject, etc.
- By clicking Newest on Top next to the Group By filter you will sort your messages with an additional filter like increasing or decreasing order, number of messages, etc.


Having a second email account? Check out how to sort emails in Outlook or sort Yahoo emails by sender.
How to Sort Gmail by Date, Subject, Name - FAQs
How do you sort emails in Gmail?
Gmail sorts your inbox by default based on the tabs you select. To know how to sort mails, you can choose from various tabs, such as Primary, Social, Promotions, among others. Click the gear icon in the upper right, then Settings to customize which tabs appear. Select the Inbox tab, then check the boxes next to the categories you wish to see as tabs in your inbox.
How do you sort Gmail by subject?
Go to Google's search bar to find out about additional alternative search scenarios or options. As soon as you input the subject into the search bar, it will appear in the "has the words" section. Simply copy-paste it into the Subject box and click Search to continue. In the email display, all emails are now ordered by subject.
How do I sort Gmail by oldest?
Gmail will display your messages in chronological order by default, with the most recent messages at the top. However, if you select Oldest, the results are sorted by oldest first. If you only have one page of emails in your folder, this will not work because you may easily scroll to the bottom and work your way up in that case.
How do I sort my emails by date?
To know how to sort emails by date, simply use the calendar and date columns to set the start and finish dates. Gmail will present the date range based on when the supplied date falls “after” or “before.” You can modify a Gmail sort by date fix until you have found the exact date range you desire.