How to Change Your Gmail Login Name

You may be able to change a personal Gmail login name to another Gmail address if Google shows the new email-change control for your account. Changing your Google Account display name or Gmail sender name does not change the address used to sign in.

What is the difference between a Gmail login name and a display name?

Before you change a Gmail account login name, identify which part needs updating:

• Google Account display name: The personal name shown with your profile across many Google services. Editing it does not change your email address.
• Gmail address: The full address ending in @gmail.com. It receives your email and may be your main Google Account email.
• Sign-in username: The email address you enter when signing in. For most Gmail users, this is the Gmail address, although a verified alternate non-Gmail address may also work.
• Gmail sender name: The name recipients see beside your address on messages you send. Gmail provides a separate setting for it.

If you are asking, “Can I change my Gmail login name?” decide whether you mean the visible personal name, the sender name, or the actual address. Each requires a different setting.

How do you change the name shown on a Google Account?

The Google Account display name is the personal name associated with your profile. To edit that name:

1. Open {site} and sign in to the correct Google Account.
2. Select your profile picture or initial, then choose Manage your Google Account.
3. Select Personal info.
4. Under Basic info, select Name.
5. Select the edit control beside your current name.
6. Enter the name you want and select Save.

This changes the name displayed across many Google services, but it does not change your Gmail address, password, or sign-in username. Some Google products have separate profiles and may continue to show a different name.

Can you change your Gmail address?

Google is gradually adding an option that may let a personal account change an existing @gmail.com Google Account email to a new @gmail.com address. The option is not available to every account, so older instructions saying that a Gmail address cannot be edited may still describe what you see.

To check whether your account can change its Gmail address:

1. Open your Google Account settings on a computer.
2. Select Personal info, then Email.
3. Select Google Account email.
4. Look for Change Google Account email.
5. If the control appears, review Google’s notices, enter an available new username, and follow the confirmation steps shown.

If that control is absent or cannot be opened, the account currently cannot use this method. A requested username must be available; an address already used, previously deleted, reserved, or too similar to another address may be rejected.

Work, school, and organization accounts are exceptions because an administrator manages their addresses. Ask the administrator whether the organization permits a username or delivery-address change.

How can you use a different Gmail login name?

If you cannot change your Gmail login name, the official alternatives depend on what you need:

• Create another Google Account with a new available Gmail address when you need a completely different Gmail identity.
• Add a non-Gmail address you own as an alternate email on a supported personal account. After verification, that alternate address can be used to sign in with the same Google Account password.
• Add Gmail to a Google Account that currently uses a non-Gmail address, if that account is eligible.
• Ask your administrator to change a managed work or school address.

To add an alternate address, open Google Account settings, select Personal info, Email, and Alternate emails. Choose Add alternate email, enter a non-Gmail address you own, and complete the verification message. A Gmail address cannot be added as an alternate email, and an address already linked to another Google Account cannot be used.

Creating a separate account does not automatically move messages, files, contacts, or access from the old account. Keep track of which account holds each item and update sign-ins on other services carefully.

How do you update the sender name in Gmail?

The Gmail sender name is the text recipients see next to your email address on outgoing messages. Change it on a computer, because this control is not available in the Gmail mobile app:

1. Open Gmail on a computer and select Settings.
2. Select See all settings.
3. Open Accounts and Import, or Accounts if that is the tab shown.
4. Find Send mail as and select Edit info.
5. Enter the sender name you want recipients to see.
6. Select Save changes.

This is the right choice when “change my Gmail login name” means changing the name shown to message recipients. The underlying Gmail address and the username used for sign-in stay the same.

What should you do when a Gmail name or sign-in change does not work?

• The old display name still appears: Sign out and back in, and check whether the specific Google product has its own profile setting. People who saved you in their contacts may continue to see the name they entered.
• The name cannot be edited: A recent name change may temporarily prevent another edit. A managed account may also restrict personal-information controls.
• The email-change control is missing: The Gmail address-change feature may not yet be available for that account. Use an alternate non-Gmail sign-in address where supported, create another account, or contact the administrator of a managed account.
• The requested address is unavailable: Choose a genuinely different username. Adding or removing dots does not create a separate Gmail address.
• You cannot sign in: Select Forgot email? if you do not remember the username, or Forgot password? if the password fails. Follow only the identity checks presented by Google. For a managed account, contact the organization’s administrator if recovery options are restricted.

Do not share passwords or verification codes with anyone offering to change your Gmail account login name. Account-name changes must be completed through the signed-in account settings or by the administrator responsible for a managed account.