How to Change Your Name on Teams (2026)
Changing your name in Microsoft Teams isn’t one setting — it depends on what kind of account you’re using. Work and school names are locked to your organization’s directory; personal and guest names you can change yourself. Here’s how each case works.
Set Your Name When Joining as a Guest
If you’re joining a meeting by link without signing in:
- Click the meeting link to reach the pre-join screen.
- In the “Enter name” box, type the display name you want.
- Click Join now.
That name shows for the whole meeting. This is the quickest way to control how your name appears as a one-off.
Change Your Name on a Personal Account
For free/personal Microsoft Teams (Teams for home):
- Click your profile picture (top-right) > Manage account / Edit profile.
- Update your name, or go to your Microsoft account profile at account.microsoft.com.
- Save — the new name syncs to Teams.
Change a Work or School Account Name
This is the common surprise: on a work/school account, you usually can’t edit your own display name in Teams. It comes from your organization’s directory (Microsoft Entra ID).
To change it:
- Ask your IT admin to update your display name in the Microsoft 365 admin center, or
- Some organizations let you edit it under your Microsoft 365 profile (office.com > your profile) — if that’s enabled, the change flows into Teams after a sync.
Changes can take a little while to appear everywhere.
Troubleshooting
The name field is greyed out
You’re on a work/school account with a directory-managed name. Only your admin can change it — Teams itself won’t let you edit it.
I changed it but Teams still shows the old name
Directory changes sync on a delay. Sign out and back in, or wait a few hours. Restarting Teams often forces the update.
I want a different name for just one meeting
Join that meeting as a guest (use the link without signing in) and type the name on the pre-join screen — without affecting your account.
My guest name keeps getting overwritten
If you’re signed in, Teams uses your account name, not the box. Sign out (or use a private browser window for Teams on web) to join purely as a guest.
Nickname vs. legal name
Organizations often standardize on legal names for directories. If you need a preferred name shown, raise it with your admin — many can set a display name separate from your sign-in.
Quick Reference
| Situation | How to change your name |
|---|---|
| Joining by link, not signed in | Type it on the pre-join screen |
| Personal Microsoft account | Profile > Edit profile / account.microsoft.com |
| Work or school account | Ask your IT admin |
| One-off different name | Join as a guest |
| Name not updating | Wait for sync / restart Teams |
Related Teams guides: How to change your background on Teams · How to pin someone in Teams · How to turn off your camera on Teams · How to record a Teams meeting · The best AI note takers for Zoom, Teams & Meet
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