How to Change Gmail Name in 2025

There are many reasons why you may need to change a Gmail name. You may be wondering how to change your name on Gmail to make your email more professional for work. Perhaps you need to rename your Gmail account after a marriage or divorce to reflect your new name. Or maybe you're undergoing a personal rebrand and want your Gmail name to align with your new persona.

Regardless of the reason, it may be hard to find detailed instructions for making this change, and here's why.

When people want to change Gmail name, they may have different scenarios in mind:

• Some only want to change their Gmail display name so that recipients of their emails see another version of their actual name in the "Sent from" field, such as "William" instead of "Bill."
• Others want to change their Gmail address, i.e., their Gmail ID, to something else. For example, they may want their account to be named "william.j" at gmail.com instead of "bill2005" at gmail.com.
• Some people may want to switch to a completely different email address with a custom email address, such as "william.j@customdomain.com."

This article will cover all scenarios and provide detailed step-by-step instructions for each option.

Can you change your Gmail name?

If you simply want to change how your actual name is displayed to others (i.e., you need your emails to read "From: William" instead of "From: Bill"), you can do that by adjusting your account settings.

However, all other changes are more complicated and may not always be possible.

If you want to change your Gmail email name (which can also be referred to as your Gmail address, Google ID, or Gmail account name), this will not be possible for @gmail.com accounts. Updating the Gmail address is only possible for Google Workspace accounts provided by schools, workplaces, or other organizations. For most personal Gmail accounts, you'll have to move to a new account to change your Gmail name.

Still not sure if you can change your Gmail name? See our detailed guide: Can I Change My Gmail Address Without Creating a New Account?

But don't worry: even if you have to switch to a new Gmail account, you can do so without losing years of data from your old account.

Change Gmail name by migrating to a new account

If you can't rename your Gmail account because it's a @gmail.com email address, you can create a new account on Gmail and then transfer your data from the old account.

There are two ways to copy your content: using an automated migration tool like VaultMe (paid but inexpensive) or manually "for free" (we'll explain the limitations of this method later).

Option 1. Migrate Gmail to another Gmail account automatically

The quick and easy way to transfer your Gmail account data from one account to another is with VaultMe, an automated online tool that migrates emails, files, contacts, and calendars. It’s a fast and hassle-free alternative to the time-consuming manual method, which we’ll cover later in this article.

Why choose VaultMe for your Gmail migration?

Don't just take our word for it—see what our happy customers have to say: VaultMe's Reviews.

While VaultMe is a paid tool, the time and effort it saves make it well worth it. Check out our prices: VaultMe's Pricing.

To transfer Gmail emails to another account automatically:

1. Navigate to the VaultMe app.
2. Select "Migrate a single user account to another account."
3. Pick "Google" as your source and destination service provider.

4. Sign in to your accounts to connect them to the app.
5. Select what parts of the account you want to copy.
6. Go to checkout, review your totals, and start your migration.
7. Sit back and relax! Feel free to close your browser or even shut down your computer. You'll receive an email in your destination Gmail when the process is complete.
8. Download your migration report and review the migration results in your new account.

VaultMe won’t modify your account settings or forward future emails from your old account to your new one. It simply copies your existing emails from one account to another. To learn what steps to take after transferring your emails, refer to this article: How to Change Gmail Address.

If you have any questions about VaultMe, feel free to email us at support@vaultme.com. We'd be happy to help!

Option 2. Migrate emails from one Gmail account to another manually

To transfer your content manually "for free," you can export and import your Gmail emails using a desktop email app like Outlook or Thunderbird.

Remember that this method has many limitations:

• Your contacts will not be copied with your emails.
• You will need to transfer your Drive files and calendars manually as well.
• The process can take several hours or days; larger accounts may require a week or more.
• Labels, read/unread status, and formatting, as well as other types of metadata, may fail to transfer.
• Your computer must stay powered on during the whole process.
• The broadband connection must be reliable and uninterrupted.

This is a slow and potentially error-prone process. Before you proceed, ensure you have a backup of your Gmail data.

Change your display name on Gmail

Using the instructions below, you will be able to change how your actual name is displayed to other people when you contact them.

Switch to a paid Google Wokspace account

Switching to a paid Google Workspace account is another way to change your Gmail name. While you won't be able to upgrade to Google Workspace without changing your Google account, a Google Workspace subscription will offer more flexibility in terms of changing your email address in the future.

With Google Workspace, you will own your own domain and will be able to customize your email address multiple times without having to switch to a different email account again.

For more information on how you can change your Gmail name after switching to Google Workspace, see this article: Changing a Directory user's name or email address.

Conclusion

Changing your Gmail name might seem tricky at first, but now you know exactly what’s possible and how to do it. If you just need to update the name people see when you email them, a quick settings change will do the trick. But if you're looking for a new email address, things get more complicated—especially if you have a personal @gmail.com account.

The good news? Whether you’re creating a new Gmail account or switching to a custom domain, you don’t have to start from scratch. VaultMe makes it easy to move your emails, files, and contacts without the hassle of a manual transfer. And if you prefer the DIY approach, we’ve outlined the steps to help you get it done.

Whichever route you take, you’re now ready to change your Gmail name in a way that works best for you! 🚀

Related articles

Need to move your Google Drive to another account? Find out how you can do that: How to Transfer Google Drive to Another Account.

Your Google Photos take too much space in your primary Gmail? Learn how to transfer them to a different Gmail account: How to Transfer Google Photos to Another Account.

Want to migrate to Google Workspace? Refer to VaultMe's comprehensive guide: Google Workspace Migration: Step-by-Step Guide.