How to change your YouTube channel name and handle

Your channel name is the display name people see. Your handle starts with @, is unique to your channel, and shows in comments, mentions, Live Chat and Shorts. It also becomes your channel's web address, such as youtube.com/@yourhandle, which is the link to print on cards and put on your website. Older personalised URLs keep working.

Sources: YouTube Help: Manage your YouTube channel's profile (computer), checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Learn about YouTube handles, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Verification badges on channels, checked 15 October 2026

The new name shows only on YouTube; your Google Account name stays as it is. It can take a few days to update across YouTube.

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. In the left menu, select Customisation, then Profile.
3. Enter the new channel name.
4. Click Publish.

• In the YouTube app on Android: tap your profile picture, tap View channel, tap Edit next to your name, enter the new name and tap Save.

Sources: YouTube Help: Manage your YouTube channel's profile (computer), checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Manage your YouTube channel's profile (Android), checked 15 October 2026

When you change your handle, YouTube holds the old one for 14 days in case you want it back, and both URLs work during that time. After that, anyone can claim the old handle, so update the links on your website, email signature and other profiles straight away.

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.
2. In the left menu, select Customisation, then Profile.
3. Under Handle, type the new handle.
4. If it isn't available, try adding periods, numbers or underscores.
5. Click Publish to confirm.

• In the YouTube app on Android: tap your profile picture, then View channel, then Edit. Under Handle, tap Edit, type the new handle and tap Save. If it's taken, the app suggests a similar one.

Sources: YouTube Help: Change, view, or hide your handle, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Manage your YouTube channel's profile (Android), checked 15 October 2026

A handle must meet YouTube's naming guidelines:

• 3 to 30 characters in most scripts (different limits apply to some, such as Han, Hangul and Japanese scripts).
• Letters or numbers from one of 75 supported languages. Handles aren't case-sensitive.
• Underscores, hyphens, periods and Latin middle dots are allowed, but not at the start or end.
• It can't look like a URL or a phone number, and it can't already be in use.
• It must follow the Community Guidelines. Violent, offensive or spammy handles are revoked and replaced, and handles can't be sold or transferred.
• Characters outside A to Z, 0 to 9 and _ - . can be hard for people to type and may display as a broken link in some apps, so plain letters are the safer choice for a business.

Source: YouTube Help: Learn about YouTube handles, checked 15 October 2026

If YouTube won't accept the change, check these in order:

1. Count your recent changes. Each can be changed only twice in 14 days.
2. If the name won't update, delete any channel name translations under Profile first, then try again.
3. If a handle is refused, it's usually taken or breaks the naming rules. Try a variation with a period, number or underscore.
4. If the new name isn't showing, wait: it can take a few days to appear across YouTube.
5. If your verified badge disappeared after a name change, that's expected. Reapply once the new name is settled; handle changes don't affect the badge.

Sources: YouTube Help: Manage your YouTube channel's profile (computer), checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Change, view, or hide your handle, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Learn about YouTube handles, checked 15 October 2026; YouTube Help: Verification badges on channels, checked 15 October 2026

Settle your name and handle before you build a publishing routine, because both appear on everything you post. Zolyp, which publishes this guide, publishes to YouTube as one of 9 platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads). It creates video uploads and Shorts with titles and descriptions written for search, can set a custom thumbnail on a standard video, and schedules them with the posts on your other networks. You approve the week before anything goes live.