Creating an auto-numbered list:

In a list, such as a name list, we may want to know how many times a particular name occurs.
To do this, we use the = COUNTA and = IF functions.

Type = IF (C4 = “”, “”, COUNTA ($ C $ 4: C4)) in cell B4 and press ENTER.
Copy the formula down, as long as the list goes, (we can copy the formula later, if the list grows even further)

HOW DOES THIS FORMULA WORK?
= IF (C4 = “”; “”; says that If cell C4 is empty (= empty double quotes), give a Blank as the result; If cell C4 is not empty, COUNTA ($ C $ 4: C4)) indicates the number of arguments from cell $ C $ 4 to C4. (We type C4 and enter the first absolute reference, twice, see the Excel 2010 Course: Lesson 34).

When we perform a COUNTA on this list, the matches are numbered automatically.
The function = IF
The function = IF gives a certain value as a result if the specified condition is TRUE and another value if it is FALSE. You can use the IF function to test conditions for the values and formulas.

The function = COUNTA
The = COUNTA function counts the number of non-empty cells and the values in the argument list. You can use COUNTA to count the number of cells that contain data, to determine a range or an array.
You can download a sample file here.

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