#!/usr/bin/perl use strict; use warnings; use Data::Dumper; my %hoa = ( flintstones => [ "fred", "barney" ], jetsons => [ "fred", "jane", "elroy" ], simpsons => [ "homer", "marge", "bart" ], ); my @freds = grep { $hoa{$_}->[0] eq 'fred' } sort keys %hoa; print Dumper \@freds;