Thunderbird Display Name in Contacts

By default, Thunderbird displays the first and and then the last name in that order in the Display name field in its Contacts. One can modify this behavior by going into the Config Editor under Advanced. This is the semi-GUI portion of Thunderbird.

Click Tools -> Options
Click the Advanced "tab".
In the filter box, type lastnamefirst.
Double-click mail.addr_book.displayName.lastnamefirst
Change the value to true.
Double-click mail.addr_book.lastnamefirst
Change this value to one of the following options:
0 - display the "Display Name" value as the contact's name.
1 - display Last Name, First Name as the contact's name.
2 - display First Name, Last Name as the contact's name.
The change should be noticeable in your address book immediately.

This works with Thunderbird 2