name ="bar"
list = [["foo", 1], ["bar", 2], ["baz", 3]]
new_list=[]
for item in list:
new_list.append(item[0])
print(new_list)
try:
location= new_list.index(name)
except:
location=-1
print (location)
This accounts for if the string is not in the list too, if it isn't in the list then location = -1