Your name has changed, or you want to go incognito on Google? Find out here how to change your profile name on Google (for Google Docs, reviews, etc.). It’s easy.
First, Is It Ventral?
I sure hope not.
For, like so many a medical term, “ventral” does not sound benign. Come to think of it, not even “benign” sounds benign.
Ventral, in any event, is neutral: it means nothing but “on the front”. If you know your Spanish, think of “vientre,” the belly. Both words come from the Latin venter, -tris: belly.
Now, from naming parts of my body to naming, in a way, my body online in Google. Changing a Google Account’s name is easy and entirely benign.
How to Change Your Profile Name on Google (for Account and Display)
Edit the Name in Your Google Account
Time needed: 5 minutes
To edit the name for your Google account (displayed across the account) using a browser on either a desktop or a mobile device:
- Open your Google Account page.
From Gmail: Using a desktop browser, you can click your avatar or image in Gmail or Google search, for example, then click Manage your Google Account.
Log in: Click Sign in if you are prompted and use your Google username (or Gmail address), password and two-step authentication if needed. - Select Personal Info on the left.
- Click the current name under Name.
Changes your Google account name: This will change the name for your Google Account. You can also edit what others see more specifically (including your nickname); see below.
- Enter the desired name under First name and Last name.
No name: You can leave either field blank if you like.
- Click Save.
Note: You cannot change your name on Google more often than 3 times in 1 minute. After changing your name 3 times quickly, you will have to wait for 1 minute to pass.
Change Your Google Profile Display Name (for Docs, Contacts, Reviews etc.)
To update the Google profile display name visible to others in Google Docs and Google Maps reviews, for instance (and add a nickname, for instance):
- Open your Google Account page.
Logging on: Log in if prompted, of course. - Go to the Personal info category.
- Follow the Go to About me link under Choose what others see.
- Now click Name under Basic info.
- Click the editing pencil next to your name (under NAME).
- Change the name as desired.
- Click Save.
- To add or edit a nickname (which you can add to your display name):
Click the editing pencil under NICKNAME.
Edit or add your nickname under Nickname.
Click Save. - To add or remove the nickname from what is shown to others in Google Docs:
Click the right arrowhead under DISPLAY NAME AS.
Choose how you want your name and nickname to show.
Click Save.
How to Change Your Google Profile Name: FAQ
How do I change my name on Google Docs?
To change the name that displays when you edit a document, suggest a change or comment in Google Docs, Google Sheets, and other apps of the Google Suite:
- Edit your Google display name. (See above.)
How can I edit the name shown for Google reviews?
Reviews on Google Maps will show your Google display name. To change this, see above.
Can I change only the display name?
No.
Your name is always shared between your Google Account and your display name. If you change it in one place, it will automatically also change in the other.
What you get to choose with the Google display name are
- what your nickname is and
- whether and how to show the nickname.
Are there any exceptions? Will my name not change anywhere?
The steps above will update the name everywhere on Google with one exception:
- If you have changed your name on Gmail for a specific account or address, Gmail will continue using that name.
- Even if you have not changed the name, do check Gmail has switched to the new name. I have seen it stick with an old name. In that case, do change the name in Gmail manually.
(How to change your Google profile name tested in a desktop browser; updated April 2024)