How to Change Your Display Name in Gmail

The Difference Between Your Name and Your Address

There is a common misunderstanding when it comes to email identities. Your email address (e.g., [email protected]) is a permanent, unchangeable identifier. Once you create a Gmail address, you can never alter the letters or numbers before the @gmail.com symbol.

However, your display name (the name that appears in bold text in the recipient’s inbox, like John Smith) is completely separate and can be changed as often as you like.

People frequently need to change their display name. You might have gotten married and changed your surname. You might have created the account as a teenager and used an embarrassing nickname that you now want to hide from potential employers. Or you might want to add a professional title (e.g., Dr. Jane Doe).

Fortunately, changing the name that people see when you email them takes less than a minute.

How to Change Your Gmail Display Name (Desktop Method)

The most reliable way to change your display name is by using a desktop web browser (like Chrome, Safari, or Edge) on a computer. The Gmail mobile app relies on your overall Google Account settings, which can sometimes take up to 24 hours to sync, whereas the desktop method forces an immediate update for Gmail specifically.

1. Open your web browser and log in to Gmail.com.
2. Look in the top-right corner of the inbox for the Settings icon (it looks like a small mechanical gear or cog). Click it.
3. A “Quick settings” side panel will slide out. Click the large button at the top that says See all settings.
4. You will now be on the main Settings page, which has several tabs across the top (General, Labels, Inbox, etc.). Click on the Accounts and Import tab.
5. Look down the page for the section labeled Send mail as:.
6. You will see your current email address and the display name associated with it. To the far right of that line, click the blue link that says edit info.
7. A small yellow pop-up window will appear.
8. In this window, you will see two options for your name:
   • The top option is your default Google Account name.
   • The bottom option is a blank text box. Click the radio button next to the blank text box.
9. Type your new, desired display name into that text box. (For example, type “Jane Smith” or “Jane (Support Team)”).
10. Click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the pop-up window.

The pop-up window will close, and your “Send mail as” section will instantly update to show your new name.

How to Verify the Change Was Successful

Because caching issues occasionally happen with email servers, you should always verify that the change looks exactly how you want it to look before you start sending important emails.

1. Go back to your main Gmail inbox.
2. Click the Compose button to start a new email.
3. In the “To” field, type your own email address.
4. Put “Name Test” in the subject line and hit Send.
5. When the email arrives in your inbox a few seconds later, look at the bold sender name. Whatever you see there is exactly what your recipients will see from now on.

What If My Name Didn’t Change?

If you followed the steps above and your old name is still showing up when you send a test email, there are two likely culprits:

• You are emailing someone who saved your old name in their contacts. If your friend saved your email address in their personal phone contacts under the name “Crazy Dave,” their phone will always display “Crazy Dave” when you email them, regardless of what you set your display name to. You cannot control the address books of other people.
• You are using a third-party email client. If you send emails using the Apple Mail app on your Mac or Microsoft Outlook, those programs have their own internal settings for your display name. Changing the name on Gmail.com will not update the name inside Apple Mail. You must go into the Apple Mail or Outlook account settings and change the display name there as well.