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.
In this guide:
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
- Look for your
user name
and click on it.
- Locate the option
Edit name
in the right bottom of the section in front of your full name and click on it.
- Provide
First name
,Last name
and typecaptcha
in the corresponding field, and click on theSave
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.
- Click on the
Start
button and typeControl Panel
in the Search field, Click onOpen
to open the control panel.
- In Control Panel look for the
User Accounts
Category and click on it
- On the next window look for
User Accounts
option and click on it.
- Click on the
Change your account name
option
- Type in the new name under the option
Type a new account name
in the field and click on theChange 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.
- To execute netplwiz through the Run command window, Press the
Windows+R
keyboard shortcut to open the Run window, alternatively, you canRight Click
on theStart
button and then click onRun
Option.
- 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 onProperties
button to proceed further.
- Type in the new user name in the
User Name
field, your full name in theFull name
field (Optional), and then click on theApply
button to save the changes you made. Click on theOK
button, and the previous window will appear with the changed name as you typed.
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