How to Change Your Account Name on Windows 10

When you set up a new Windows 10 PC, the part where you choose your username may catch you off guard. If that’s the case, you may choose the first thing that pops into your head or something random and temporary that you intend to change later. But surprisingly enough, changing your account name in Windows 10 isn’t exactly a straightforward process. It can be done, but there are a few important things to consider as you go about it. Read on for the details.

Change Account Name and Rename User Account Folder in Windows 10

Your username is part of your identity used to sign in to Windows 10. Mistakes can sometimes happen when creating a username. There are several ways you can fix that.

Currently, the Settings app doesn’t offer an option to edit usernames. There are two ways to work around this limitation.

Method 1: Classic Control Panel

Find and open the classic Control Panel. One way to do this is to press Windows + R and then type Control then hit Enter.

Open the User Accounts control panel, then click Manage another account.

Click the account you want to edit.

Click Change the account name.

Enter the correct username for the account then click Change Name.

Method 2: User Accounts Advanced Control Panel

There is another way you can do it.

Press Windows key + R, type: netplwiz or control userpasswords2 then hit Enter.

Select the account, then click Properties.

Select the General tab then enter the user name you want to use. Click Apply then OK, then click Apply then OK again to confirm the change.

What about Your User Folder Name?

Changing the username is pretty basic, but this change is not reflected in the User folder located within the C: drive. Renaming it can be risky—sometimes sticking with it or just creating a new user account then copying your files to the new account is a better option. Yes, it’s annoying, but it’s better than ending up with a corrupt user profile.

If you must change it to hush your OCD, there is an advanced option available. This involves using the command line to access the security identifier (SID) then making the necessary change in the Registry. Before you go any further, enable then log into the built-in Administrator account. As a precaution, create a system restore point in advance.

To access all the information within the SID requires using the Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line to reveal the value needed to find and change it in the Registry. Open the command prompt with Administrator privileges, type: wmic useraccount list full then hit Enter. Scroll down then take note of the SID values for the account you want to change.

The next step is to rename the account. Doing this from the command line is just as easy.

For example, rename “Angry Dah Cosof” “Angela Brown”

Open Start, type: regedit

Right-click Regedit.

Click Run as administrator.

Remember that SID value we accessed earlier? Now is the time to reference it.

Once you find it, select it, then double-click the value ProfileImagePath. You will see the old name we had earlier is still there. Change it to the new name you want to use.

There you have it, the name you actually intended. Mistakes like this can happen, but there is always a way to fix them.

How to change sign-in account name on Windows 10

Source: Windows Central

On Windows 10, you may have many reasons to change an account name. For instance, you recently changed your name, and you want to reflect the correct information. The device has a local account, and you want to display your actual name instead of the nickname. Or you want to modify the name of the account to make it a little more private.

Regardless of the reason, Windows 10 includes different settings to change the name that appears in the Sign-in screen and across the experience, but it is not a straightforward process. Depending on the account type you are using, the instructions will be entirely different.

In this Windows 10 guide, we will walk you through the various methods to change the account name that appears on the Sign-in screen for a local or Microsoft account.

How to change account name with Settings on Windows 10

If the device uses a Microsoft account, Windows 10 pulls the account name from the cloud. As a result, you have to change the settings online if you want to change your device’s account name.

To change the name of the Windows 10 account, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Accounts.
3. Click on Your info.

Click the Manage my Microsoft account option.

Source: Windows Central

Quick tip: You can always access your account settings online on this Microsoft page.

Click the Your Info tab.

Source: Windows Central

Under your current name, click the Edit name option.

Source: Windows Central

Change the new account name as needed.

Source: Windows Central

Quick tip: If you want to make your information a little more private, you can use the first six letters of your name and the first two letters of your last name (often known as «six-by-two» by network administrators).

Confirm the challenge to verify that a robot is not making the changes.

Click the Save button.

Restart the computer.

Once you complete the steps, the Sign-in screen should reflect the new name change, but allow sometime before the changes sync and apply to all your computers.

Although changing the account name is a straightforward process, the caveat is that renaming the account online also changes the first and last name of any services connected to your Microsoft account, including Xbox Live, Outlook, OneDrive, Microsoft 365, and others.

How to change account name using Control Panel on Windows 10

When using a local account, you have several different ways to modify the account’s name using Control Panel.

Change account name with User Accounts

To change the account name using the User Accounts settings, use these steps:

Open Control Panel.

Under the «User Accounts» section, click the Change account type option.

Source: Windows Central

Select the local account to change its name.

Source: Windows Central

Click the Change the account name option.

Source: Windows Central

Confirm the new account name to in the Sign-in screen.

Source: Windows Central

Click the Change Name button.

After you complete the steps, sign-out of the current session and the Sign-in screen should display the new name.

Change account name with netplwiz

You can also use the legacy account management tool (netplwiz) to complete the same task on Windows 10.

To update the account name with netplwiz, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for netplwiz and click the top result to open the legacy account management tool.
3. Click the Users tab.
4. Select the account to change its name.

Click the Properties button.

Source: Windows Central

Confirm the new name in the «Full Name» field – for example, «John Smith.»

Source: Windows Central

Quick tip: If you want to display a nickname instead of your real name, you can leave the «Full Name» field empty.

Click the Apply button.

Click the OK button.

Click the OK button again.

Once you complete the steps, sign-out, and the Sign-in screen will show the name you specified in the «Full Name» field.

You can also edit the accounts linked to a Microsoft account with the legacy tool. However, the information will again be overwritten by the cloud settings, thus making this option only available for local profiles.

Change account name with Computer Management

To use a different name for an account on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Computer Management and click the top result to open the console.
3. Double-click to expand the System Tools branch.
4. Double-click the Local Users and Groups branch.
5. Click on Users.

Right-click the account you want to edit and select the Properties option.

Source: Windows Central

Quick tip: You can use the Rename option to change the profile nickname from the context menu.

In the «Full name» field, confirm a new name for the Windows 10 account.

Source: Windows Central

Click the Apply button.

Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the next time you sign in to the account, the Sign-in screen will show the local account’s new name.

On Windows 10, you have several methods to change the name of an account, but any of the available options will not change the name of the profile folder in the «Users» folder. You might find online some workarounds, but it is not recommended to use those instructions, as you may end up creating other issues.

If you want to change the account name everywhere on Windows 10, you should create a new account with the name you wish to use, and then transfer all your settings and files to the newly created account.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

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