diff --git a/frontend/src/features/conversation/list/ConversationListItem.vue b/frontend/src/features/conversation/list/ConversationListItem.vue
index 717170ee..aa875ab6 100644
--- a/frontend/src/features/conversation/list/ConversationListItem.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/features/conversation/list/ConversationListItem.vue
@@ -21,11 +21,16 @@
 
       <!-- Content container -->
       <div class="flex-1 min-w-0 space-y-2">
-        <!-- Contact name and last message time -->
+        <!-- Contact name, reference number, and last message time -->
         <div class="flex items-center justify-between gap-2">
-          <h3 class="text-sm font-semibold truncate">
-            {{ contactFullName }}
-          </h3>
+          <div class="flex items-center gap-2 min-w-0">
+            <h3 class="text-sm font-semibold truncate">
+              {{ contactFullName }}
+            </h3>
+            <span v-if="conversation.reference_number" class="text-xs font-mono text-muted-foreground whitespace-nowrap">
+              #{{ conversation.reference_number }}
+            </span>
+          </div>
           <span class="text-xs text-gray-400 whitespace-nowrap" v-if="conversation.last_message_at">
             {{ relativeLastMessageTime }}
           </span>
diff --git a/internal/conversation/models/models.go b/internal/conversation/models/models.go
index df4d44e7..0c564fb8 100644
--- a/internal/conversation/models/models.go
+++ b/internal/conversation/models/models.go
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ type ConversationListItem struct {
 	CreatedAt          time.Time               `db:"created_at" json:"created_at"`
 	UpdatedAt          time.Time               `db:"updated_at" json:"updated_at"`
 	UUID               string                  `db:"uuid" json:"uuid"`
+	ReferenceNumber    string                  `db:"reference_number" json:"reference_number"`
 	WaitingSince       null.Time               `db:"waiting_since" json:"waiting_since"`
 	Contact            ConversationListContact `db:"contact" json:"contact"`
 	InboxChannel       string                  `db:"inbox_channel" json:"inbox_channel"`
diff --git a/internal/conversation/queries.sql b/internal/conversation/queries.sql
index 665a6125..ef86b3ea 100644
--- a/internal/conversation/queries.sql
+++ b/internal/conversation/queries.sql
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ SELECT
     conversations.created_at,
     conversations.updated_at,
     conversations.uuid,
+    conversations.reference_number,
     conversations.waiting_since,
     users.created_at as "contact.created_at",
     users.updated_at as "contact.updated_at",
diff --git a/internal/search/queries.sql b/internal/search/queries.sql
index 672fd28c..08f21b07 100644
--- a/internal/search/queries.sql
+++ b/internal/search/queries.sql
@@ -5,19 +5,23 @@ SELECT
     conversations.reference_number,
     conversations.subject
 FROM conversations
-WHERE reference_number::text = $1;
+WHERE reference_number::text ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'
+   OR subject ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%';
 
 -- name: search-conversations-by-contact-email
-SELECT
+SELECT DISTINCT ON (conversations.id)
     conversations.created_at,
     conversations.uuid,
     conversations.reference_number,
-    conversations.subject
+    COALESCE(conversations.subject, users.first_name || ' ' || users.last_name) as subject
 FROM conversations
 JOIN users ON conversations.contact_id = users.id
-WHERE users.email = $1
-ORDER BY conversations.created_at DESC
-LIMIT 1000;
+WHERE users.email ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'
+   OR users.first_name ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'
+   OR users.last_name ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'
+   OR (users.first_name || ' ' || users.last_name) ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'
+ORDER BY conversations.id, conversations.created_at DESC
+LIMIT 100;
 
 -- name: search-messages
 SELECT
@@ -40,5 +44,10 @@ SELECT
 FROM users
 WHERE type = 'contact'
 AND deleted_at IS NULL
-AND email ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'
+AND (
+    email ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'
+    OR first_name ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'
+    OR last_name ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'
+    OR (first_name || ' ' || last_name) ILIKE '%' || $1 || '%'
+)
 LIMIT 15;