Change Your Display Name in Gmail Settings

Your Gmail display name is what appears to other people when you send them an email. To change it, sign into your Gmail account, click the gear icon in the top right corner, and select See all settings. Go to the Accounts and Import tab, then find the section labeled Send mail as. Click Edit info next to your name, type your new name in the field that appears, and click Save changes.

The change takes effect when ready for new emails you send. People who receive your messages will see the new name you entered. This does not change your actual Gmail address — only the name displayed alongside it. Your email address (the part before @gmail.com) stays the same.

Key Takeaways

  • Your display name is separate from your email address and can be changed anytime without affecting your account login or email access.
  • The display name change appears on new emails you send but does not retroactively change the name on emails already sent.
  • If you have multiple email addresses set up in your Gmail account, you can set a different display name for each one.
  • Changing your display name does not require verification or approval from Google and takes effect within minutes.

Where to Find the Display Name Setting

Open Gmail in your web browser and look for the gear icon in the top right corner of the screen, next to your profile picture. Click it and a dropdown menu appears. Select See all settings from that menu. You will land on the Settings page, which shows several tabs across the top: General, Labels, Inbox, Accounts and Import, Filters and Blocked Addresses, Forwarding and POP/IMAP, and more.

Click the Accounts and Import tab. Scroll down until you see a section called Send mail as. This section lists all the email addresses you can send from in this Gmail account. Next to your primary Gmail address, you will see your current display name and an Edit info link. Click that link to open the name editor.

Entering Your New Name

When you click Edit info, a small window opens with a text field containing your current display name. Delete the old name and type your new one. You can use any combination of letters, numbers, and spaces. There is no character limit, though very long names may be truncated in some email clients.

After you type your new name, click the Save changes button at the bottom of the window. Gmail will confirm the change and return you to the Settings page. The new name is now active and will appear on all emails you send from that moment forward.

What Changes and What Stays the Same

Your Gmail address itself does not change. If your email is john.smith@gmail.com, it remains john.smith@gmail.com no matter what display name you set. People still reach you at the same address, and you still log in with the same username and password. Only the name that displays next to your email address in recipients' inboxes changes.

Emails you sent before the change will still show your old display name to the people who received them. Gmail does not update the name retroactively on past messages. Only new emails sent after you make the change will show the new display name. If you receive replies to old emails, those replies will still go to the same Gmail address and appear in your inbox normally.

Changing the Name on Multiple Email Addresses

If you have set up multiple email addresses in your Gmail account under Send mail as, you can set a different display name for each one. In the Accounts and Import tab, the Send mail as section lists all of them. Each address has its own Edit info link. Click the link for whichever address you want to change, update the name, and save.

This is useful if you use one Gmail account for both personal and professional email addresses. You might display your full name for work emails and a nickname for personal ones. Each address remembers its own display name independently.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

If you do not see the Send mail as section in your Accounts and Import tab, scroll down further — it appears below other account settings. If the Edit info link is grayed out or missing, you may not have permission to edit that particular email address. This sometimes happens with email addresses you added but do not fully own or with accounts managed by an organization.

If your new name does not appear on emails you send, wait a few minutes and send a test email to yourself. Changes usually take effect within minutes, but occasionally Gmail takes longer to sync the change across all its servers. If the old name still appears after an hour, sign out of Gmail completely, clear your browser cache, and sign back in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does changing my display name affect my Gmail password or login?

No. Your login credentials stay exactly the same. You sign in with your email address and password, which never change when you update your display name. The display name is purely cosmetic and visible only to people who receive your emails.

Can I change my actual Gmail address?

Not directly. Your Gmail address is permanent. However, you can create a new Gmail account with a different address and forward emails from the old one to the new one. You can also add a different email address to your existing Gmail account under Send mail as if you own that address and verify it with Google.

Will people see my old name if they have my email in their contacts?

It depends on their email client. Some email programs pull the display name fresh each time you send an email, so they will see your new name. Others cache the old name from your first email to them and may not update it automatically. The safest approach is to send a new email after changing your name if the person needs to see the updated version.

Can I use special characters or emojis in my display name?

Letters, numbers, and spaces work reliably. Special characters and emojis may display differently depending on the email client the recipient uses. Some email programs strip them out or show them as boxes. Stick to standard characters if you want your name to appear correctly for everyone.

What if I share my Gmail account with someone else?

Changing the display name affects how all emails from that account appear to recipients, regardless of who sends them. If two people share one Gmail account, they will both send emails under the same display name. If you need separate identities, each person should have their own Gmail account.