You need to use "Sort By Name" in the right-click context menu instead of using Sort via the Views menu at the top.

The Views menu in the Bookmarks Manager (Bookmarks > Organize Bookmarks) is for displaying the bookmarks in different sorting orders (hence the name Views) and doesn't sort bookmarks permanently.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Sorting_and_rearranging_bookmarks_-_Firefox
• SortPlaces: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/sortplaces/

I have a Mac - - what is right-click? What is a context menu? I can't find anything in the drop-down menus that says 'Organize Bookmarks'

"Bookmarks > Organize Bookmarks" has been renamed to "Show All Bookmarks" in Firefox 4 and later.

• https://support.mozilla.com/kb/how-do-i-use-bookmarks

"Show All Bookmarks" brings up the 'library' window. As you noted earlier, sorts done in this window are not reflected in the sidebar or drop-down menus. I guess I may as well use this as an opportunity to clean up my bookmarks, rename them, and manually sort them. Thank you for your help.

Only sorts that you do via the Views menu in the Library do not last because the settings in that menu are meant for viewing purposes.

You can do the sort via the right-click context menu (Sort By Name) of a bookmarks folder in the Library or sidebar (View > Sidebar > Bookmarks).