Show most frequent popup menu selection in Numbers

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Level 1

4 points

Show most frequent popup menu selection in Numbers

Hello!

I know Apple Numbers is a bit lacking in some ways so I was wondering if it is even possible to achieve what I am looking do to.

I have created a reading journal where I have a column to select a book’s genre from a popup menu.

What I would like to do is create a separate cell that would display the option/genre that is has been selected the most (Fantasy from my screenshot above).

I’d like the highlighted cell to show “🐉 Fantasy”.

I already know how to create a secondary table to sum the number of times each choice is selected, but is what I’m looking for possible to do?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Posted on Dec 31, 2025 11:36 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Badunit

Level 7

30,564 points

Jan 1, 2026 6:24 PM in response to KwehDoink

=INDEX(Table 1::B,MODE(IFERROR(MATCH(Table 1::B,Table 1::B),"")))

Note that both formulas will throw an error until you have at least two of something. Below is one that will give no result until there are at least two if something.

=IFERROR(INDEX(Table 1::B,MODE(IFERROR(MATCH(Table 1::B,Table 1::B),""))),"")

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Answer 2

Badunit

Level 7

30,564 points

Jan 1, 2026 4:13 PM in response to KwehDoink

If the table name is Table 1 and the Genre column is column B and the formula is in a different table on the same sheet,

=INDEX(Table 1::B,MODE(MATCH(Table 1::B,Table 1::B)))

This will find the most commonly occurring genre in the column. It will not work if there are any blank cells in the column. If there is a tie, the winner is the one whose last occurrence is nearest the bottom of the table.

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Answer 3

KwehDoink Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 1, 2026 5:16 PM in response to Badunit

Thank you so much for this!

For my reading journal, I tend to have blank rows to match my goal for the year. I know you mentioned that the formula you provided would not work if there are blank cells in the column. Is there any workarounds for that to allow it to generate the genre based on the cells that have been filled?

I would be willing to just add a row as I add a new book to the table, but I am worried that other formulas I have in the journal will not copy down to the new rows.

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