How-To

How to Change Name in Gmail

By Brian Burgess

Updated September 30, 2022

Want to change your display name on Gmail? It’s easy enough to change (if you know how to). Here’s what you’ll need to do.

When you send an email via Gmail, it displays your name and email address to the recipient. Luckily, you don’t have to stick with the display name you came up with when you initially set up your account. Instead, Google allows you to change your name in Gmail.

While you can change the display name, you can’t change your username (different from the display name) or email address. In that case, you’ll need to create a new account and hope the name you want to use is still available.

If you want to know how to change your name in Gmail, follow the steps below.

How to Change Name in Gmail

To change your name in Gmail, use the following steps:

1. Head to the Gmail website and sign in if you aren’t already.
2. After you log in, click on the Settings (gear) icon.
3. When the menu comes up, click the See all settings button.
4. The Settings page comes up to the General tab—click Accounts and Import.
5. In the Send mail as section, you’ll see the email address and the display name for that address. Click the edit info button to the right.
6. A new Edit email address screen will open so you can change your Gmail name. Select the second box and type in the new name you want to use.
7. Click the Save Changes box to apply the new name.
8. After setting your new display name in Gmail, go back to the Accounts and Import section. You’ll see your new display name in the Send mail as section next to your Gmail account.
9. After following the steps above, your new display name will be shown to the recipient.

Using Gmail

Even though you may not have gotten the email address and handle you wanted, you can change your display name using the steps above. For example, if you still want to change your email address, you can create a new account and import the data from your new account to it.

You can do a lot with a Gmail account—for example, you can add links to text or images or something more complex like inserting a table into your message. You can also download and save attachments or use labels effectively in Gmail.

Want to customize your profile further? Consider adding an image to your Gmail signature. If you’re new to Gmail, take a look at our beginner’s guide to help you get started.