How to Change YouTube Channel Names (Step-by-Step!)

There’s a long list of reasons to change a YouTube channel name. Maybe you’ve woken up with fresh channel name ideas, or perhaps you feel that your current name isn’t allowing your channel to grow and get the attention it deserves.

Whatever the reason, there’s good news – changing YouTube channel names is definitely possible! But don’t start jumping for joy just yet. The process isn’t as straightforward as you might think, and it can be confusing and time-consuming if you don’t know what you’re doing.

That’s why we’ve decided to create this complete guide on how to change YouTube channel names.

Important: When available, we use affiliate links and may earn a commission!

In this guide, we’ll cover the full process step-by-step to minimize the headaches that typically come along with YouTube name changes.

Personal vs Brand Account on YouTube: What’s the Difference?

Before getting into the actual process for how to change a YouTube channel name, it’s important that you understand the difference between the two types of YouTube accounts.

There are two types of YouTube accounts: Personal and Brand

A personal YouTube account is linked to an individual email address, whereas a brand account allows for multiple managers (and multiple linked email addresses). The exact steps to change a YouTube name depend on which type of account you have.

How to Find Out Which Type of Account You Have

To determine the type of account you’re working with, start by logging in to your YouTube channel and confirm that you’re signed in to the right account. Select YouTube Studio from the dropdown menu and click on Settings in the bottom left corner.

After logging in, head to your YouTube Studio

Once in your account settings, select the Channel tab, choose Advanced Settings, and scroll all the way to the bottom where you’ll find a Manage YouTube account button.

If you have a brand account, you’ll immediately see the option to add or remove channel managers, like this:

You can add or remove channel managers with a Brand YouTube account

If your account is personal, there’s no mention of channel managers at all. Your personal account settings will look like this:

Personal YouTube accounts don’t have channel managers

Now that you know which type of account you have, it’s time to get to the actual process of changing your channel name.

We’ve covered the steps for both types of accounts below, so refer to the one that applies to your YouTube channel.

Personal Account: How to Change Your YouTube Channel Name

First, let’s talk about how to change the name of a personal YouTube account. To start, head to the account’s Settings page – you’ll see the settings button on the bottom left-hand side of the screen.

From there, select the Channel option, and right away you’ll see a button to make name changes where it says “To edit channel name, visit your Google account.”

You can change the channel name of a Personal account

Click on the Google account link to be taken to your personal Google account. This is where you’ll be able to make the changes to your name by editing the First Name/Last Name options.

Unfortunately, personal accounts only allow you to use a first and last name; it’s a personal account, so the name of the channel has to be, well, personal.

How to Switch a Personal Account to a Brand Account

The name limitations for a personal account and the fact that there can only be one channel manager are both big reasons to make the switch to a brand account.

Luckily, this is possible, and you can create a brand account that absorbs all of the current content and subscribers of the previous personal account in 10 steps. Here’s what you do:

***In the steps below, we’ll be referring to the new brand account as Justin’s Super Awesome Channel (classy, right?!) and the old personal account simply as Justin Brown.

  • Step 1: Visit your account Settings (bottom left corner of the screen) and click on the Advanced Settings
Step #1 is to click on the Advanced Settings tab
  • Step 2: Within the advanced settings, scroll to the bottom and select Manage YouTube account.
Step #2 is to click on the Manage YouTube account option
  • Step 3: In order to make the switch from a personal to brand account, you first need to create a brand channel. To do this, click on Add or manage your channel(s).
Step #3 is to click on Add or Manage your Channel
  • Step 4: Select Create a new channel – don’t worry, you’ll still be able to convert the original channel to a brand channel – and type in your desired Brand Account name. Once you’ve selected your name, click Create.
Step #4 is to Select Create a New Channel
  • Step 5: Next, switch the account back to the personal account you’re wanting to change. To do this, select your profile icon at the top right hand corner of the screen, click on Switch Account, and select the right channel.
Step #5 is to click on click on Switch Account
  • Step 6: Once in the right account, click the channel’s YouTube Studio dashboard in the profile dropdown, then visit the Settings page followed by Advanced Settings and select Manage YouTube account.
Step #6 is to visit the Settings page
  • Step 7: Click on View advanced settings. Towards the bottom of the advanced settings page, you’ll see an option to Move channel to a brand account. Click on that link.
Step #7 is to click on View advanced settings
  • Step 8: Click on the brand account name you just created. YouTube will then inform you that this channel is “already connected to another YouTube channel” and it will ask you if you’d like to delete that channel.

Note: Since it’s brand new and contains no content (just confirm that it has 0 subscribers, no videos, and no playlist) you can go ahead and click on Delete Channel.

Step #8 is to click on click on Delete Channel
  • Step 9: Next, you’ll be taken to a screen with details of the channel move. Confirm that everything looks the way it should and you are in fact moving the correct personal channel to the right brand channel name.
Step #9 is to check all your details
  • Step 10: Lastly, click on Move Channel to officially make the switch. YouTube will notify you of the updates that will be made and what to expect for the content transfer (see the photo below for these details).
Step #10 is to click on click on Move Channel

There’s one more thing to be aware of when switching from a personal to a branded account. If you’re using a custom URL because you’ve already surpassed 100 subscribers, this URL won’t transfer over, even after completing the steps above.

The only way to transfer an existing, custom URL to the new brand account is to get in touch with YouTube Support.

To recap the process for switching a Personal Account:

You will need to create a new brand account, then switch your current personal account to take over the account you just created. It’s a bit more complicated than it needs to be, but hopefully, these 10 steps have cleared everything up.

Brand Account: How to Change Your Channel Name

Now that we’ve covered all the details on switching from a personal account, it’s time to learn how to change a YouTube channel name for brand accounts.

The good news is that you’ve gotten through the hard part (switching between account types), so from here on out, it’s smooth sailing.

Start by logging into your YouTube account and confirming you’re logged in to the right channel. Then head to the account settings from your profile dropdown and select the link that says Edit on Google.

To change the name of a Brand account, start by clicking on Edit on Google

You’ll then be taken to a screen with your current channel name listed under Basic Info, so click on that, hit the Edit icon to make your changes.

Click on the Edit icon to make your changes

Before making your edits, Google will most likely ask you to input your password to verify your account. Once you’re verified, type in your new channel name and hit the Save button.

That’s it!

How to Get a Customized URL

Whether you’re using a personal or brand account, you have the chance to get a customized channel URL once your verified account hits over 100 subscribers.

A customized URL will look something like this

Not every account is eligible for this, so to check if yours is, head to your channel’s Advanced Settings dashboard and select Manage YouTube account. From here, click on the View advanced settings link.

On this page, there’s an option for Custom URL which will tell you whether or not you’re eligible to use one.

There are 4 requirements to be eligible for a custom URL

If you are eligible, the Custom URL option will be clickable and you can go through the steps to get it/change it (YouTube allows you to change it up to 3x per year).

Want to Change YouTube Channel Name? Now You Can!

There you have it – the complete guide on how to change a YouTube channel name.

As you can see, changing a channel name isn’t the easiest thing to do, but at least you now have access to this step-by-step guide to help you through the process.

If you want to learn more about how to correctly set up and optimize your YouTube channel, check out our full tutorial here. You can also download our free YouTube Ranking Guide where we cover the 3 most powerful tools and ranking strategies to increase your YouTube traffic by 10x!

Links

When available, we use affiliate links and may earn a commission!

Recommended Resources

Recommended Tutorials


Recommended Gear & Resources

Check out an up-to-date list of all the gear, software & tools we use and recommend right now at Primal Video on our resources page here!

Related Content

Share this...

Save this post for later?

Hit the button below and we'll send you this post for later, plus subscribe you to our awesome (free!) Primal Video Insider updates!

Table of Contents
Save this post for later?

Hit the button and we'll send you this post for later, plus subscribe you to our awesome (free!) Primal Video Insider updates!

Hit the button below and we’ll send you this post for later, plus subscribe you to our awesome (free!) Primal Video Insider updates!

More from Primal Video...

Edit Videos by Editing TEXT! (Descript Tutorial for Video Editing)

Edit Videos by Editing TEXT! (Descript Tutorial for Video Editing)

Imagine if you could edit your videos as easily as you can edit a Google Doc… Well, this dream has …

View →
Best Lapel Microphone for iPhone/Android AND DSLR – Under $50! - Boya BY-M1

Best Lapel Microphone for iPhone/Android AND DSLR – Under $50!

I’m always tinkering with new gadgets and toys that promise to improve video production quality and efficiency.. I’ve already done …

View →
Kinemaster tutorial

Kinemaster Tutorial: How to Edit Video on Android & iPhone!

Learn how to edit video on Android & iPhone using one of the best video editing apps in this complete …

View →
3 reasons your youtube channel is not growing

3 Reasons Your YouTube Channel is NOT Growing!

Are you stumped with how to grow your YouTube channel? Wondering how to grow your YouTube channel fast? We know …

View →
How We Make $1M+ From YouTube - Passive Income Ideas That ACTUALLY Work

How We Make $1M+ From YouTube – Passive Income Ideas That ACTUALLY Work

A lot of people question whether you can really make money online. They wonder if it’s worth it. And if …

View →
Best iPhone Camera Settings For High Quality Video in 2023

Best iPhone Camera Settings for High Quality VIDEO in 2023

Your built-in iPhone camera app is super powerful out-of-the-box. But by changing a few key iPhone camera settings, you can …

View →
How to Cut Your Videos without Re-Rendering - Video editing software

How to Cut Your Videos without Re-Rendering

If you’ve ever wanted to cut or extract a section of your video files, but didn’t want to re-render or …

View →
Editing Video on Android: Editing with Cyberlink PowerDirector on Android - Public Relations

Editing Video on Android: Editing with Cyberlink PowerDirector on Android

Cyberlink PowerDirector on Android is a great app for creating videos on-the-go. With the right process it’s easy to get …

View →

Best Shotgun Mic for YouTube? Top 3 Options for Every Budget!

What’s the Best Shotgun Mic for YouTube? Here are our Top 3 recommended boom mics for every budget!

View →
Don't miss a thing!

Become a Primal Video Insider to stay in the loop.

If you get my best Blue Steel impression now, just imagine what's waiting for you on the inside...

Become a Primal Video Insider and unlock:
We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe.
Check out our Privacy Policy for more info!

If you get my best Blue Steel impression now, just imagine what's waiting for you on the inside...

Become a Primal Video Insider and unlock:
We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe. Check out our Privacy Policy for more info!