Change Your Username on YouTube

Your YouTube username is the name or title of your choosing that displays on your channel and on the videos you post. Once chosen, your username cannot, as such, be changed. To get a totally new username, you'd have to create a brand new account. However, if you signed up for YouTube through your Google+ account, you may switch from your Google identity to a traditional YouTube username. The following instructions outline both of these actions.

Steps

Understanding Google's Policy

  1. Understand that you cannot change your YouTube username the traditional way. The "traditional way" means changing your username or profile on Facebook or Skype. If you read Google's policy, they make it explicitly clear that you cannot change usernames.
  2. Focus on what you can do. Since Google does not allow users to change usernames, you can do one of three things:
    • Delete the account and start a new account. See Method One'.
    • Change the "name" box that appears in your profile. See Method Two.
    • Set the username if you've just created a Google account and haven't yet chosen a username. See Method Three.

Deleting Old Account, Creating a New One

  1. Go to YouTube's website.
  2. Save your videos before deleting. If you want to save YouTube videos to your computer before deleting your account, go to My Videos and click Download Mp4 for each you want transferred to your new account. Click on the Edit button to copy your video metadata, being sure to save the title, description, and tags.
    • There are also many third-party websites that offer to save the videos in downloadable files as described here.
  3. Delete your old account. Again, if you choose to go this route, your subscriptions, channels, and preferences will be lost. Go to Settings, click the Overview tab and click the Advanced button below your e-mail address. Click Close Account.
  4. Create a new account. Click on Create Account in the upper right hand corner.
  5. Select the new username of your choice. Remember, you won't be able to change it, or at least not easily, so brainstorm a little before you make a final decision.
  6. Finish your new username and upload your old videos. If you saved any videos, along with titles, descriptions, and tags, upload them onto your new account.

Changing the Name Box in YouTube

  1. Go to YouTube's website.
  2. Click on your username in the top right corner of the browser. This action will prompt a dropdown menu to appear.
  3. Click on "YouTube Settings".
  4. Next to your username, click on "Edit profile". This will bring you to your Google+ account.
  5. Click on your name on the top left corner of your profile.
  6. In the new boxes, write your name as you would like it to appear in Google+ and YouTube. Click "Save". A message asking you if you're sure will pop up.
  7. Read the warning and click "Change Name".
  8. Go to YouTube and see your new name for yourself.

Create a YouTube Username with Google+ or Gmail

  1. Sign in to YouTube with your Google account.
  2. Go into your account settings. Click on your name/e-mail in the upper right hand corner. Click "YouTube Settings".
  3. Click "Revert to username" next to your username. This will make it possible to rename your channel.
  4. Choose a username. Remember, you will not be able to change this username. Check the box that acknowledges you understand the changes and pres "Create Username".



Tips

  • Having a Google account when making your YouTube account makes it easier to delete/add a YouTube profile.
  • Your YouTube username must be unique. You cannot use the same name as anyone else.
  • Know that once you delete your YouTube account, you lose your subscribers and all the likes and dislikes on your videos.
  • If you would like your username to consist of only one word, use a period as your last name.
  • Also REMEMBER that YouTube, now owned by Google, will NOT allow you to use "unique" names any longer as per their "names policy" which you can see here. [1]

Warnings

  • Note that you can never retrieve your account again once you delete it.

Related Articles

  • Make a YouTube Channel Using Same Account
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