Want to send emails from your brand or has your name changed? Find out here how to change your email sender name in Mac Mail as well for outgoing messages—to practically anything (including emoji).
First, a Psychologist Sees a Jar of Marmelade at the Supermarket
At home, Alice Bradley Sheldon already has a bag full of science fiction stories she’s written.
She looks at the Tiptree label and container, thinks about the stories at home, and—sends that bunch of stories to publishers under the assumed name of James Tiptree Jr.
So, if you do have a jar of jam or can of carrots, perhaps, here’s how to change your name for all those SF emails you have ready to send:
How to Change the Email Sender Name in Apple Mail on a Mac
Change a Mac’s name instead? How to Change the Name of a Mac
Time needed: 5 minutes
To change the name that appears as the sender in the “From:” line when you send an email from Apple Mail for macOS on your Mac:
- Select Mail | Preferences… from the menu in macOS Mail.
- Go to the Accounts tab.
- Highlight the email account for which you want to change the sender name.
- Now go to the Account Information tab.
- Click the current selection under Email Address:.
- Select Edit Email Addresses… from the drop-down menu that has opened.
iCloud Mail: For iCloud email accounts, this will take you to editing the name on iCloud.com; if you change the name there, Mail will use the updated name for sending.
- Click on the name you want to edit in the Full Name column.
- Edit the name as desired.
Add instead of edit: You can also add the same email address again using a different Full Name and choose between the two versions when you send an email.
- Click OK.
- Close the Accounts preferences window.
You can change the names you see for others, too: Change the Name Associated with an Email Address in Mac Mail
How to Change the Email Sender Name in Apple Mail on a Mac: FAQ
Can I use special characters or emoji in my Mac Mail sender name?
Yes, you can use any character available in Unicode for the “From:” email sender name in Mail. You can add emoji characters as well.
For both, it is not guaranteed they will display correctly for all recipients.
Mail may also overdo it by escaping special characters in addition to encoding them.
Example: You may end with a quotation marks—”—displaying as \”.
Will changes I make synchronize with other email programs (such as iOS Mail)?
Changing your sender name in macOS Mail will not synchronize with other email programs or email services’ web interfaces with one exception:
- The sender name for Mail for Mac and iCloud Mail at iCloud.com will synchronize.
(How to change your sender name in Mac Mail tested with macOS Sonoma 14.2, Ventura 13.4, Big Sur 11.3 and Catalina 10.15; updated January 2024)