Can you change your Reddit username?

You can't change your Reddit username. Not even a capital letter.

You can change the display name, and for most people that is the fix they were after.

Here is what you can change, what you can't, and what to do instead, in 4 parts, with 5 things you can copy.

Save this before you make your next account.

Short answer

No. Reddit's help center says that once a username is finalized, it can't be changed in any way, including its capitalization. Deleting the account doesn't free it either. What you can change is your display name, along with your bio, avatar and banner, from your profile settings. If you need a different u/ name, make a new account. Reddit lets you have more than one.

Key takeaways

• A Reddit username is permanent once it is finalized, capitals included.
• A deleted username is gone for good. Nobody can use it again, including you.
• The display name, bio, avatar and banner can all be changed in your profile settings.
• A new account is allowed, but it starts with no karma and no age.
• Using a second account to get around a ban is ban evasion.

1. Can you change your Reddit username?

No. Reddit's help page Can I change my username? is two short paragraphs, and the first is a flat no: a finalized username can't be changed in any way, including its capitalization. Deleting the account doesn't help. The name becomes unusable, for you and for everyone else.

So if you signed up at fifteen as u/yourname_2009 and you now run a company, you are still u/yourname_2009.

The same page says Reddit is happy for you to make a new account and keep both. It even says you can make as many as you like.

That is the honest route to a new u/ name. It costs you the karma and the account age of the old account, and many subreddits check both.

If you do start fresh, give the new account time before it posts anywhere strict. Rankhog warms up accounts you own, slowly, in your own browser.

2. What is the difference between a Reddit username and a display name?

Your username is the permanent u/ name you pick at signup. It is in your profile link and in every mention. Your display name is a label on your profile that you can change in your profile settings. The username identifies the account. The display name is closer to a nickname you can swap.

Here is how they compare. Copy it if you are explaining this to a team.

One more difference matters for companies. Reddit is testing verified profiles, and for businesses on Reddit Pro the business name must match the account's display name. The grey checkmark then shows next to the display name. If you are a brand, the display name is the one to get right.

There is a third label, too. User flair is a tag next to your name inside one subreddit. Depending on the subreddit, you or the mods set it.

3. How do I change my Reddit display name?

On the web, open Settings and go to the Profile section. In the app, go to your profile and tap Edit. Change the display name there and save. The same screen also changes your bio, avatar, banner and social links. Your username stays exactly as it was.

Here are the steps from Reddit's help page on profile settings. Copy them.

On the web:

1. Open Settings from your avatar menu.
2. Go to the Profile section.
3. Change the display name, then save.

In the app:

1. Open your profile.
2. Tap Edit.
3. Change the display name, then save.

While you are on that screen, write a bio. If you are a founder who will talk about your field on Reddit, here is a bio line you can copy.

I work on [product]. I'm here for [topic], and I say so when it comes up.

It doesn't replace a disclosure in the comment itself. It does save a reader a click.

4. What should I do if I need a new username?

Pick the smallest fix that solves the real problem. If the name is only awkward, change the display name. If some old posts are the problem, curate your profile. If you need a clean break, make a second account and warm it up. Delete the old one only if you are sure, because Reddit can't bring it back.

Here is how I would decide. Copy it.

1. The name is awkward, the history is fine. Keep the account and change the display name.
2. Some old posts are the problem. Hide them with profile curation.
3. You need a different u/ name for work. Make a second account and keep the old one.
4. You want the old account gone. Delete the posts you don't want left behind first, then the account.

Profile curation is in the same profile settings. It lets you hide chosen subreddits' content from your profile. The posts still exist in those subreddits and in search, on and off Reddit. And when you post or comment in a subreddit, its mods can see your full profile history for the next 28 days, whatever you hid.

Deleting is the big one. Reddit's page on deleting an account says your posts and comments stay on Reddit with no name attached, the username can never be used again, and the admins can't restore the account.

A second account comes with three rules I would not bend.

• Don't use it to post where your other account is banned. That is ban evasion, and the Reddit rules that get marketers banned explain why it can sink both accounts.
• Don't let your accounts vote for each other. That is vote manipulation.
• Don't make a new account to escape a shadowban. Appeal instead. The shadowban checks include the appeal steps.

Before you pick the new name, run this list. Copy it.

1. Pick a name you'd be fine with in ten years. You can't change it.
2. Check the spelling and the capitals before you confirm.
3. Skip your product name if you will post as a person. I find a product in the username reads like an ad.
4. Skip birth years and in-jokes you'd rather not explain to a customer.
5. Verify the email on the first day.

Rankhog's free username checker is coming. Until then, Reddit's sign-up screen lets you cycle through available names.

Then build the account up slowly. How to get karma on Reddit covers the first comments, and karma farming vs warming up your account has a 14-day plan.

What I don't know yet

• Reddit's help page says a username can't change once it is finalized. It doesn't say what happens before that. Some people report that accounts given an automatic name at signup could pick a new one in their first days. I couldn't confirm it in Reddit's help center, so don't count on it.
• Reddit doesn't say how often you can change a display name, or whether two accounts can share one.
• Reddit could allow username changes one day. Nothing in its help center hints at it.

Who this is not for

If you like your username, none of this applies. Keep it.

If your account is banned or shadowbanned, a new name won't fix it. Appeal the account you have.

What to do next

Today, in this order:

1. Open your profile settings.
2. Change your display name and write a one-line bio.
3. Hide old posts with profile curation if they bother you.
4. Only if you still need a new u/ name, make a second account and verify its email.
5. Give that account a couple of weeks of comments before it posts anywhere strict.

Rename. Curate. Decide. Warm up.

Thanks for reading. If you end up with a fresh account, that is the job I built Rankhog for. Rankhog warms up accounts you own, slowly, in your own browser.