6 Best Ways to Change User Account Name in Windows 10

When you start your Windows PC, that’s the user account name you see at the Sign In screen. And for different reasons, you may want to change it to make it look personal or recognizable. Chances are you just entered your full name during Windows installation or your IT staff misspelled it.

You should be absolutely clear that the user account name is not the same as the computer name. The computer name is the name of your hardware device (desktop or laptop computer), while your user account name is actually the name of your Microsoft account and this is different. That means you can create multiple user accounts and name them differently (for example, one for each family member) on the same computer. However, the Windows 10 computer name will be preserved for each user account. You can rename the computer later if you want.

This guide will cover all the ways to change only the user account name, not the computer name.

Note: There are two types of accounts. One is a Microsoft user account where the computer is connected to your Microsoft account ID and still syncs with other connected devices. The other is a local account that works offline. We will cover both.

Let’s get started.

1. Rename your Microsoft account online

You can change your Windows 10 computer’s name on Microsoft’s website, but only if you’ve connected your computer to it. If you’re using a local account on a computer that works offline, this method won’t work.

Step 1: Go to the Microsoft Account Profile page and sign in. Click the Edit name option below your name to get started.

Step 2: You will need to fill in the captcha for verification. Other contact details and profiles can also be edited if needed.

You will need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

2. Change account name locally from control panel

Here’s how to change your name from the Windows settings itself.

Step 1: Search for Control Panel in the Start menu and open it.

Step 2: Go to User Accounts > User Accounts and click Manage other accounts. You will see a list of all accounts. Click the local account name that you want to rename.

Step 3: Click Rename account.

Step 4: Enter the new user account name in the box provided and click the Change Name button to save the changes.

Restart to apply the changes and see the new name.

3. Change local and administrator account names with Netplwiz

This is a hidden settings file designed to manage user accounts in Windows 10.

Step 1: Search for Netplwiz in the Start menu and open it. You can also open it with the Run command (Windows key + R).

Step 2: You will see a list of all user accounts including the administrator account. Select the user account for which you want to change the name and click Properties.

You can change the account’s name, username, and description. The same steps will work for admin accounts as well.

Click Apply to save the changes and reboot to make them happen.

4. Change local account names in groups and local users

Step 1: You can open Local Users and Groups from the Start menu or Run command by searching for the string lusrmgr.msc.

Step 2: Double-click the Users folder in the left pane of the window to see a list of all users. Now double click on the user account name to open the Properties window and change the name and description there.

Note: You will also see hidden admin and guest user accounts that were created when you first installed the Windows operating system. You can and should disable them for security.

5. Change the local user account name using the command prompt

This trick is intended for proficient users and enthusiasts to master Command Prompt.

Step 1: Search and open Command Prompt (CMD) from Start by clicking Run as administrator.

Step 2: Enter the command below to find the local user account name.

wmic user account get full name, name

Step 3: Now, issue below command to change the name. Replace “old-name” with the account name you want to change and “new-name” with the name you want to set.

wmic user account where name=”old name” rename “new name”

6. Change local username account using PowerShell

PowerShell is an enhanced version of CMD and will replace it in the future. For those who have moved on, here’s how things work in PowerShell.

Step 1: Use Windows key + X keyboard to open a hidden menu to find PowerShell or search for it in the Start menu. Always open with administrative privileges to make system-level changes.

Step 2: The first command will return a list of all local user account names. The second step will change the user account name in Windows 10. Just like the previous step, replace “old name” and “new name” accordingly.

Get-LocalUserRename-LocalUser -Name “Current Name” -NewName “New Name”

Distinguish between System Name and Username

Those are six different ways to change user account names in Windows 10. You can use one of them to change names for accounts created for offline purposes. Changing the name of an online user account connected to your Microsoft account is even easier. Moreover, you can do it from any computer by signing in to your Microsoft account from the browser. This makes it really important to put 2FA everywhere because your security could be at risk. You should also enable Windows Hello on your computer, if supported, to make sure no one else with physical access to your computer can access and change things around. As always, your safety is in your hands.

Next: Accidentally deleted your admin account on Windows 10? Learn how to fix this problem and gain access to your computer, but more importantly, make sure it never happens to you again.

Categories: How to
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