How to Change Your Name in Microsoft Teams [4 Ways]

If you’ve ever joined a Teams meeting and spotted your name showing up wrong — maybe it’s your old nickname, a typo, or your legal name when you prefer to go by something else — you’re not alone. This is one of the most common things people want to fix, and honestly, it should be straightforward. But Teams has a few different ways to handle names depending on your account type, which can make it a little confusing.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through every method — desktop, mobile, in-meeting, and organization-managed accounts — so you can sort it out no matter your situation to change your name in Microsoft Teams.

Why Your Name Matters in Teams

Your display name in Microsoft Teams shows up everywhere — in chat, during meetings, in channels, and even in email notifications. If it’s wrong or outdated, it can create confusion, especially in professional settings where you want people to know exactly who they’re talking to.

So, whether you got married and changed your name, switched roles, or just want to fix a spelling mistake that’s been bugging you for months, here’s how to do it.

Before You Start: Know Your Account Type

This is important because the steps differ based on what kind of account you’re using:

• Personal Microsoft account — You have full control. You can change your name directly through your Microsoft account settings.
• Work or school account (Microsoft 365) — Your name is usually managed by your IT admin through Azure Active Directory. You may not have the option to edit it yourself.
• Microsoft Teams Free — Similar to a personal account. You can update your name through your profile settings.

Not sure which one you have? Look at the email address you use to sign in. If it ends in something like @yourbusiness.com or @school.edu, it’s likely an org-managed account.

Change Your Name in Microsoft Teams

Let’s discuss all the 4 methods now.

Method 1: Change Your Name on Desktop (Teams App)

This is the most common way to do it, and it works for personal Microsoft accounts.

Steps:

1. Open Microsoft Teams on your Windows PC or Mac.
2. Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner of the screen.
3. In the dropdown, click on your profile picture or name again — this opens your profile card.
4. You’ll see a pencil (edit) icon next to your name. Click it.
5. A dialog box will appear. Click on Manage account.
6. Then click Edit name. In a dialog box, update your first name and last name as needed.
7. Click Save.

Your updated name should reflect across Teams within a few seconds. If it doesn’t update immediately, sign out and sign back in — that usually does the trick.

Quick tip: The name you set here is tied to your Microsoft account, so it will also update in other Microsoft apps like Outlook. Keep that in mind if you’re only trying to change it in Teams.

Method 2: Change Your Name via Microsoft Account Website

If the edit option in the app isn’t working, or if you prefer to do it in a browser, this method works well.

Steps:

1. Go to account.microsoft.com and sign in with your Microsoft account.
2. Click on Your info from the top navigation.
3. Under your name, click Edit name.
4. Update your first and last name in the fields provided.
5. Click Save.

Once saved, open Microsoft Teams and sign out, then sign back in. Your new name should appear immediately after logging back in.

This method is especially useful if you’re using Teams on a browser (teams.microsoft.com) rather than the desktop app.

Method 3: Change Your Name on Mobile (iOS and Android)

If you’re mostly using Teams on your phone, here’s how to update your name from the mobile app.

On iOS (iPhone or iPad):

1. Open the Microsoft Teams app.
2. Tap your profile picture in the top-left corner.
3. In the menu that appears, tap your profile picture again.
4. Tap Edit name.
5. Enter your new name and tap Save.

On Android:

1. Open the Microsoft Teams app.
2. Tap your profile picture in the top-right corner.
3. Tap your profile picture in the menu that opens.
4. Tap the pencil icon to edit.
5. It will show the pop-up. Then, click the manage account. After that, on the site, you can change the name.

The mobile and desktop versions sync, so once you save on mobile, the change will appear on all your devices.

Method 4: Organization-Managed Accounts (Work or School)

If you’re on a work or school account and you try to edit your name but the option is greyed out or simply not there — that’s by design. Your organization controls display names in Azure Active Directory (formerly Microsoft Entra ID).

In this case, here’s what you do:

1. Contact your IT admin or HR department and ask them to update your display name in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center or Azure AD.
2. Once they make the change on the backend, it will sync to Teams automatically.
3. You may need to sign out and back in for the change to appear.

This is common in large organizations where names need to match official records. There’s no workaround for this — you’ll just need to go through the proper channels.

Pro tip for admins: If you’re the IT admin, you can update display names in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center under Users > Active users, or directly in Azure Active Directory > Users. After saving, the change propagates to Teams within a short while.

Common Issues and Fixes

Sometimes things don’t go smoothly. Here are the most common problems people run into:

Name not updating after saving:

• Sign out of Teams and sign back in.
• If using the desktop app, close it completely and reopen.
• Give it a few minutes — since the January 2026 update, name changes sync faster, but there can still be a short delay.

Edit option is missing:

• You’re likely on an org-managed account. Contact your IT admin.

Name changed but still wrong in Outlook:

• Teams and Outlook pull from the same Microsoft account profile. If you’ve updated your name through account.microsoft.com, it should sync to Outlook too. If not, allow 24 hours for the change to propagate through the Microsoft 365 directory.

Can’t change username (email address):

• Display name and username (your email/login) are different things. You can change the display name using the steps above, but changing your actual username (the email you use to sign in) is a separate process — and for org accounts, only an admin can do it.

A Few Things Worth Knowing

• Display name vs. username: Your display name is what others see in chats and meetings. Your username is the email address you sign in with. These are two separate things.
• Teams Free vs. Teams for Work: The steps are mostly the same, but Teams Free ties your name directly to your Microsoft account. Changes there will update your name everywhere you use that Microsoft account.
• Name changes are visible to everyone: Once you save a new name, all your contacts, teammates, and meeting participants will see it immediately in new chats. Older conversation threads usually update automatically, too.

Quick Reference: Which Method Should You Use?

Situation	Best Method
Personal Microsoft account, desktop	Method 1 or 2
Personal Microsoft account, mobile	Method 3
Work or school account (name is locked)	Method 4 (contact IT admin)
Change not sticking / not syncing	Sign out and sign back in

In this tutorial, we learned how to change your name in Microsoft Teams using different methods based on your account type.

We covered multiple ways to update your display name, including using the desktop app, mobile app, and Microsoft account website. We also explained what to do if you’re using a work or school account where the name is managed by your organization.

Along the way, we also looked at common issues like changes not syncing, the edit option being unavailable, and how to fix them easily.

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