How to create drop down list with unique values?

Question

I have a list of Username and I want to check the records against names. I created a drop down list now that list is showing name but same names multiple times.

Is there a way to create a drop down list with unique names?

Answer 1

Make a pivot table out of your list of non unique names, and drag the name field in the pivot as a row field. That will give you a list of unique names that you can then use as your dv list

Answer 2

1. Highlight the column with the data you want in the drop-down
2. Data--> Sort&Filter --> Advanced
3. Enable "Copy to another location" and "Unique records only" List
4. Range should be where all the bits are (already highlighted)
5. Leave Criteria Range blank
6. Copy to should be a blank cell, in the same worksheet, with nothing in the rows below it.
7. Use this new data in your data validation