If you’ve grown bored with your Twitter name or want to commemorate a significant event or cause, there’s always the option of changing your name. It’s easy to do and can breathe a little life into an old or unfortunately named account. We show you how to give yourself a new handle on Twitter.
Should you want a completely fresh start though, you may want to consider deleting your Twitter account and beginning again.
How to change your Twitter display name
As you may be aware, there are two different kinds of name on your Twitter account: username and display name. The former is the one that appears at the end of your Twitter URL (the webpage address that leads directly to your account) and with which you log in. The display name is what appears under your profile picture or is highlighted when you post a tweet.
Changing the username is a more considered choice, as this is how people will search for you online, send direct messages, and is the name of your account. But the display name is just for fun so you can change it as much as you like.
To do the latter, open the Twitter app and tap on your profile icon in the top left corner. From the menu that appears select Profile then tap the Edit Profile button.
At the top of the next screen you’ll see the text field for your name. Simply select it, delete the existing one and replace it with your new name. When you’re done, tap the Save option in the top right corner to complete your transformation.
How to change your Twitter username
Should you feel that your username really doesn’t reflect your personality or current interests anymore, this is also quite easy to change. Twitter states that you won’t lose any of your followers or previous tweets, but as soon as you choose a new name the old one will be immediately available to others, so you may not be able to change back again. It also recommends that you let your friends and followers know what you’ve done, so they don’t wonder who this new person is in their feed.
To change your username, open Twitter and tap on your profile icon in the top left corner. From the menu that appears, scroll down and select Settings and privacy. Tap Account then you’ll see the Username field with your current name displayed. Tap this and you’ll be able to enter a replacement.
Twitter will let you know whether the new one is available or not, so you may need to enter a few before you find the one you want. Tap Done to finish the process.
For more ways to protect and get the most from your experience, read how to change a Twitter password, how to block someone on Twitter and how to delete all tweets on Twitter.