How to Change Your WordPress Username: Even Shakespeare Would Dig It

“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet.”

- Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare

Although we may smell as sweet no matter our name, sometimes we’d like a name that’s as sweet as we are.

And in WordPress, that appears to be a problem if you didn’t choose a username wisely when you first set up your site.

WordPress says that usernames cannot be changed.

But that’s not exactly true. What they mean to say is that they can’t be easily changed via the backend Admin area. However, if you dig into the database a little, it’s a different story. … Maybe not as compelling a story as Romeo and Juliet, but a story you’ll be interested in nonetheless.

How to Change Your Username

Note: Because many WordPress users have Cpanel with their webhost, this tutorial will demonstrate changing your username via Cpanel. If you do not have Cpanel, you will need to navigate to your database via the system you have. You may need to contact your webhost if you run into problems.

* It’s recommended that you back up your database before proceeding.

1. Login to your account on your server / your Cpanel Admin area.

2. Access your database(s) via phpMyAdmin (found in the Databases section of Cpanel)

3.  Click on your database name (left hand side)

If you have more than one database, you will need to choose the correct one. Most people will probably only have one database, however.

4. Choose wp_users

Once you’re into your database, on the left hand side, click into wp_users

5. Find User & Click Edit

Find the user you would like to change by searching under the user_login column. Then click “Edit.”

6. Replace Username

Replace the original username with the new username in the user_login row. Then click “Go” at the bottom of the page to save your change.

(Note: You can also change the user_nicename here if you like, or you can change that in the Admin area of your site. This corresponds to the “Nickname” in the Admin area of your site.)

7. Login to Your Site

Once you change your username, you will need to login with your new one.

8. Confirm New Username

Once logged in, you should see your new username under your profile..

That’s It

And that’s all there is to it. So simple even The Bard wouldn’t object.

Photo: Poet from BigStock