How to Change Your Display Name in Outlook (2026)
Your display name is the friendly name recipients see in the From field instead of your raw email address — “Jordan Lee” rather than jordan.lee@contoso.com. Where you change it depends on the account type: a personal Microsoft account (Outlook.com/Hotmail) pulls from your Microsoft profile, a work or school account is set by your IT admin in the directory, and an account added to classic Outlook has its own editable name field. This guide walks through each path so the right name shows up on your mail.
This guide covers every current version: Outlook on the web, the new Outlook for Windows and Mac, and classic Outlook for Windows.
1. Understand Which Name You’re Changing
There are three distinct “names” in play, and editing the wrong one won’t change what recipients see:
- Microsoft account name — the first/last name on your personal Microsoft profile. This controls the From name for Outlook.com, Hotmail, and Live addresses.
- Directory display name — for work or school (Microsoft 365) accounts, this lives in your organization’s directory and is controlled by your admin. You usually can’t change it yourself.
- Account name in Outlook — when you add any account to classic Outlook for Windows, the Your Name field in account settings sets the From name. This is the one you can edit locally.
Start by identifying which account type you’re fixing, then follow the matching section.
2. Change the Name on a Personal Microsoft Account (Outlook.com / Hotmail)
For an @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, or @live.com address, the display name comes from your Microsoft account profile.
- Go to account.microsoft.com and sign in
- Open Your info (top menu)
- Click Edit name under your profile
- Update your First name and Last name
- Enter the CAPTCHA if prompted
- Click Save
The new name applies to mail sent from that address. Allow up to 24 hours for it to fully propagate across Microsoft’s services.
3. Change the Name on a Work or School (Microsoft 365) Account
For a company address like you@yourcompany.com, the From name is the directory display name, set in Microsoft 365.
If you’re a regular user: you generally can’t change this yourself. Contact your IT administrator or help desk and ask them to update your display name in the Microsoft 365 admin center (Users → your account → Manage display name).
If you’re the admin:
- Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center (admin.microsoft.com)
- Go to Users → Active users
- Select the user
- Edit the Display name field under their account/contact info
- Save
Changes can take up to 24 hours to appear on outgoing mail because of directory sync.
4. Change the Name in Classic Outlook for Windows
Classic Outlook stores a Your Name value per account. Editing it changes the From name on mail sent from that account in the desktop app.
- Go to File → Account Settings → Account Settings
- On the Email tab, select the account you want to change
- Click Change
- In the Your Name field, type the name you want recipients to see
- Click Next (Outlook tests the connection), then Finish
For Microsoft 365 and Exchange accounts, the server-side directory name can override this local field — if your test email still shows the old name, the directory name (Section 3) is taking precedence.
5. Change the Name on the Web and New Outlook
Outlook on the web / New Outlook (personal account): there’s no dedicated display-name field inside Outlook’s settings. The name is pulled from your Microsoft account profile, so change it at account.microsoft.com → Your info → Edit name (Section 2).
Outlook on the web / New Outlook (work or school account): the name comes from the directory and is set by your admin (Section 3). Settings inside Outlook won’t let you override it.
6. Verify the Change
After updating, confirm what recipients actually see:
- Compose a new email addressed to yourself (or a second account you can check)
- Send it
- Open it in the recipient inbox and look at the From name displayed
- If it still shows the old name, wait up to 24 hours for propagation, then retest
Sending to an external address (e.g., a personal Gmail) is the most reliable test, since it shows exactly what outside recipients see.
Quick Reference
| Account type | Where to change the name |
|---|---|
| Outlook.com / Hotmail / Live | account.microsoft.com → Your info → Edit name |
| Work / school (Microsoft 365) | Admin sets it in the 365 admin center |
| Account added to classic Outlook | File → Account Settings → Change → Your Name |
| Web / New Outlook | Pulled from Microsoft profile or directory (no in-app field) |
Troubleshooting
I changed my name but recipients still see the old one.
Directory and Microsoft account changes can take up to 24 hours to sync. Send a test email after waiting. If it persists past a day on a work account, your admin’s directory name is overriding the local change.
There’s no Your Name field in new Outlook or on the web.
New Outlook and the web version don’t expose an editable display-name field — they inherit it from your Microsoft account profile or your organization’s directory. Change it at account.microsoft.com or ask your admin.
I edited Your Name in classic Outlook but the From name didn’t change.
For Exchange and Microsoft 365 accounts, the server’s directory display name takes precedence over the local Your Name field. The change only sticks for POP/IMAP accounts; for work accounts, contact your admin.
My name shows correctly internally but wrong to outside recipients.
External recipients see your directory/SMTP display name, which your admin controls. The local Outlook nickname cache only affects how names appear to you, not how you appear to others.
I want a different name for one account but not others.
In classic Outlook, the Your Name field is per-account, so set each one individually under File → Account Settings → Change. Personal and work accounts each pull from their own source.
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