sum(if frequency) is not working

Hello all,

I have use sum(if frequency) quite often, and now it seems to not want to work.

So, I have entered in the first cell in the C column "=SUM(IF($A$1:$A$5 = C1, 1, 0))" to calculate the frequency of the names in the A column by the range in B column and then dragged the formula down for each cell in the C column as per instructions. However, it produces this strange result. I've tried different data sets and different worksheets to no avail. I was getting a "circular reference" message before, but I don't see it circularly referring to anything.

A B C
tom tom 1
harry harry 0
harry **** 0
****
george

I've attached the worksheet. Any help is much appreciated!
Tom

Hello Mr. Tom,

You're using SUM on text values. You need to understand the syntax of your function and the reference you're applying respective function to.

Use this one - =COUNTIF($G$3:G3,G3)

Tom,
Best way would be to use countif something like '=COUNTIF($C$1:$C$12,A3)
Bill K