Trusted WordPress tutorials, when you need them most.
Beginner’s Guide to WordPress
WPB Cup
25 Million+
Websites using our plugins
16+
Years of WordPress experience
3000+
WordPress tutorials
by experts

How to Add or Change Your Full Name in WordPress

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on WPBeginner. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Learn more about Editorial Process.

Is your WordPress site showing the wrong name on your blog posts?

By default, WordPress will display the site owner’s username on their posts. This is usually something other than their full name.

In this article, we will show you how to easily add or change your full name in WordPress, step by step.

How to Add or Change Your Full Name in WordPress

Why Use Your Full Name in WordPress?

When you first set up your WordPress website, it’s required to set up a username that you can use to log in.

Often, people choose usernames that are easy to remember and are a mix of different words or letters.

When You Install WordPress, You Are Asked for a Username, Not Your Full Name

This WordPress username is then displayed on the posts that you write as an author. However, it can look a little strange and is not very professional.

For example, if your name in a post is displayed as ‘jsmith204’ instead of ‘John Smith’, it can affect your credibility as an author, causing your readers to question the legitimacy of your WordPress blog.

By Default, the Username Is Displayed on the Posts You Author

Luckily, WordPress has an easy way to change the display name to your full name without changing your username.

Using a full name instead of a username helps search engines recognize that the content is written by you.

It also helps to establish your personal brand because your readers will become familiar with your name.

That being said, let’s look at how to add or change your full name in WordPress, step by step.

How to Change or Add Your Full Name in WordPress

To change your display name, head over to the Users » Profile page from your WordPress dashboard.

If you are not able to see the ‘Users’ menu tab in your WordPress admin menu, then this means you are not an administrator on this site. Even so, you can still make changes to your profile by clicking on the Profile menu.

Once there, scroll down to the ‘Name’ section, where you can see the options to add your first name, last name, and nickname.

There Are Options to Add Your First Name, Last Name, and Nickname

After filling in these fields, just click on the dropdown menu next to the ‘Display name publicly as’ option.

From here, you can now select a new username to be displayed with your posts from your first or last name, full name, nickname, or username.

After selecting the name you want to use, click on the ‘Update Profile’ button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

You will notice that the name you chose to display publicly will now appear in the top right corner of the WordPress toolbar next to ‘Howdy‘.

Your Name Will Now Appear in the Top Right Corner of the WordPress Toolbar

When you visit your website, you will see the posts that you wrote will now show your full name instead of your username.

If you wish to change your display name in the future, then simply revisit your user profile and repeat these steps with your new name.

You Will Now See Posts Showing Your Full Name Instead of Your Username

Other than that, if you want to change the author name in a WordPress post, then you can see our beginner’s guide on how to change the author of a post in WordPress.

Bonus: How to Change Your WordPress Username

If you want, then you can also change your username on your WordPress site.

For instance, if you have a business website and your username is ‘jsmith204’, then it won’t look good on the website front end, and users might not take your site seriously.

However, by default, WordPress does not allow you to change your username once the account has been created.

To do this, you will have to install and activate the Easy Username Updater plugin. For detailed instructions, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, head to the Users » Username Updater page and click the ‘update’ link next to the username you want to change.

update user

This will direct you to a new screen where you can easily add a new username for yourself.

Once you are done, don’t forget to click the ‘Update Username’ button to store your settings.

Update username

For detailed instructions, see our tutorial on how to properly change your WordPress username.

We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to add or change your full name in WordPress. You may also want to learn how to increase your blog traffic or check out our top picks for the must-have WordPress plugins to help grow your site.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. See how WPBeginner is funded, why it matters, and how you can support us. Here's our editorial process.

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

The Ultimate WordPress Toolkit

Get FREE access to our toolkit - a collection of WordPress related products and resources that every professional should have!

Reader Interactions

9 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
    Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
    Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
    You can get more details about the contest from here.
    Start sharing your thoughts below to stand a chance to win!

  2. Zoraida Rivera says

    Thanks for this article. It helped me change my username and appear publicly as I wanted to.

  3. Arlette Barrientos says

    I’ve been trying to change my username it. after I update my profile it will go back to admin again. please help

  4. Anders Toft Braun says

    Hi,

    I really liked this post and video, especially the video! I was wondering if it is possible to change my WordPress photo?

    I have been looking everywhere to find a guide, but I can’t. I really hope you have an answer for my question.

    Best regards
    Anders Toft Braun

  5. syed zahid hussain says

    I have to start learning from world press.which is very new to me.Hope your guidence will be helpfull as beginner.Hope your guidence will be faverable

Leave A Reply

Thanks for choosing to leave a comment. Please keep in mind that all comments are moderated according to our comment policy, and your email address will NOT be published. Please Do NOT use keywords in the name field. Let's have a personal and meaningful conversation.