How to Change Your User Name on Windows 10 or 11

In Windows 10 and 11 you can change the Windows user name. To do so you need to follow three different ways depending upon the type of account you have. You might be using a Microsoft email account or just using a local account on Windows 10 or 11. So, let’s see how we can modify the Windows username in the email, from the control panel, or use a netplwiz command.

Change Windows Account Name via Email

In case you are signed in with a Microsoft account then you have to make changes to the user name on the Microsoft website.

In order to manage the account and change the user name, you need to log in to your Microsoft account. You can log in to the account via a web browser (Automatic log-in on Edge browser). For other browsers, you have to log in manually. Alternatively, you can do the following

Go to Settings > Click on Accounts > Click on Your Info > Click Manage My Account

1. Look for your user name and click on it.
   
2. Locate the option Edit name in the right bottom of the section in front of your full name and click on it.
   
3. Provide First name, Last name and type captcha in the corresponding field, and click on the Save button to save the changes you made.
   

You will be redirected to the main account page and the altered name will be displayed there.

Changing Local Account Name via Control Panel

In case you are logged in with a local user in Windows, then there will be a different way to change it.  The option to change the local user name is not available in settings, so you need to use the Control Panel for the purpose. You need to follow the following steps.

1. Click on the Start button and type Control Panel in the Search field, Click on Open to open the control panel.
   
2. In Control Panel look for the User Accounts Category and click on it
   
3. On the next window look for User Accounts option and click on it.
   
4. Click on the Change your account name option
   
5. Type in the new name under the option Type a new account name in the field and click on the Change Name button to save the changes you made.
   

The previous window will appear immediately after saving with the changed user name.

Change Windows Local Account Name via Command netplwiz

The local user name can be changed via netplwiz command as an alternate control panel method. The advantage of this method is that you can modify the user name as well along with the display name. In order to do so, you need to run the netplwiz command. There are two ways to execute the command.

• In the Command Prompt
• In the Run command window

To open Command Prompt window click on start button and type the command prompt in search field, click the Command Prompt in the search results to open it. Command Prompt window will appear. Type netplwiz and hit Enter on the keyboard.

1. To execute netplwiz through the Run command window, Press the Windows+R keyboard shortcut to open the Run window, alternatively, you can Right Click on the Start button and then click on Run Option.
   
2. After executing the command, the User Accounts window will appear. Click on the user name for which you want to change the name and then click on Properties button to proceed further.
   
3. Type in the new user name in the User Name field, your full name in the Full name field (Optional), and then click on the  Apply button to save the changes you made. Click on the OK button, and the previous window will appear with the changed name as you typed.
   

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