The Ward Directory and Map search field will only display the first five households, or households with names, that contain the letter(s) you type. As I typed my own name in the search box my name did not appear in the first five results until the third character was entered. Getting to your name may not happen until enough characters are entered that places your name among the first five names that match those characters you enter in the order you enter those characters.
Note that you can type in characters starting from any point within a name string of characters to locate the name you want. Names are listed with the surname first followed by the given name. Spaces and the comma are not considered in the character string. Character capitalization is also not considered. For example, when looking for Joseph Smith the characters 'th, Jo', 'th Jo', 'th jo', or 'thjo' will most likely hit on 'Smith, Joseph'.
When searching for a name in the directory, and you are not certain of the spelling, use the first letter of the last name scroll bar on the right of the directory of names to get close and then scroll down or up as needed to find the name.
Also note that this functionality of the search feature is a recent change. Changes to how the search function works may change again in developing a better user experience. If you are not satisfied with the search function, you can submit feedback using the feedback link found on most Church web pages. Currently there is no feedback link on the bottom of the Ward Directory and Map web page. Use another Church web page feedback link and be sure to identify the web page feedback is being submitted about.
JD Lessley
Have you tried finding your answer on the ChurchofJesusChrist.org Help Center or Tech Wiki?