How to Change Your Steam Username (and What You Can't Change)

Steam gives every account three names, and only two of them can be changed. Your profile name, the one friends and other players see, can be changed any time for free. Your custom URL can be changed too. Your account name, the one you sign in with, can never be changed, not even by Steam Support.

There is one more thing many guides skip. Steam keeps a public list of your previous profile names, and anyone who can view your profile can see it. This guide covers how to change each name on desktop and mobile, and how to deal with that history.

Quick answer: open your Steam profile, select Edit Profile, change the Profile Name field and save. To change the link to your profile, edit the Custom URL field on the same page. Your account name cannot be changed.

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Account Name, Profile Name and Custom URL

	Account name	Profile name	Custom URL
What it is	The name you type to sign in	The name shown on your profile, in friends lists and in many games	The readable part of your profile link
Example	Only you see it at sign in	NightOwl	steamcommunity.com/id/nightowl
Can you change it?	No, never	Yes, any time	Yes
Must be unique?	Yes	No	Yes

There is also a fourth identifier, your SteamID: a 17 digit number, usually starting with 7656119, that is assigned to your account when it is created. Like the account name, it is permanent.

Steam Support puts it plainly: "Your SteamID and Steam Account Name can not be changed, even by Steam Support staff members. Your player name can be changed at any time." So when people search for how to change their Steam username, the name they can change is the profile name.

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How to Change Your Steam Profile Name on PC or Mac

1. Open the Steam app and sign in.
2. Hover over your name in the top menu and select Profile.
3. Select Edit Profile on the right.
4. Under General, replace the text in the Profile Name field.
5. Scroll down and select Save.

The same steps work in a web browser at steamcommunity.com once you are signed in. The change takes effect on your profile straight away.

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How to Change Your Steam Profile Name on iPhone or Android

1. Open the Steam app and tap your profile picture.
2. Tap View Profile, then Edit Profile.
3. Change the Profile Name under General.
4. Tap Save.

Steam does not limit how often you change your profile name, so you can try a name and change it again later. Bear in mind that every change is added to the name history described below.

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How to Change Your Steam Custom URL

Your custom URL is the address people use to reach your profile. It is also the part of your Steam identity that works like a true username, because no two accounts can share one.

1. Go to your profile and select Edit Profile.
2. Under General, find the Custom URL box.
3. Type the new address. It can use letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores.
4. Select Save.

Two things to know:

• Old links stop working. Anything pointing to your previous custom URL, such as a link in a Discord bio, a forum signature or a streaming page, will no longer lead to your profile. Update those links when you change it.
• You can remove it entirely. If you clear the Custom URL box, your profile falls back to an address built from your SteamID, in the form steamcommunity.com/profiles/ followed by your 17 digit SteamID. Steam Support uses this same trick to show you your SteamID.

Assume your old custom URL can be claimed by someone else once you let it go, so change it only once you are sure.

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Steam Shows Your Previous Names

This is the part that surprises people. Every Steam profile has a small arrow next to the profile name that opens a list of previous names, also called aliases. Steam keeps up to your last 10 names, along with the date of each change, and the list is visible to anyone who can view your profile, not just your friends.

We checked this directly on public profiles in October 2026: Steam returned up to 10 earlier names for each, with the date each one was changed.

How to clear your Steam name history

1. Open your own Steam profile.
2. Select the small arrow next to your profile name to open the list of previous names.
3. Select Clear Previous Aliases.

Clearing the list hides your earlier names on Steam. It does not change your account name or SteamID, and it cannot reach copies made elsewhere. Some third-party Steam lookup sites record name changes over time, and users report finding old names on those sites after clearing them on Steam. If an old name is something you really want gone, treat clearing as a good first step rather than a guarantee.

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If You Need a Different Account Name

There is no way to rename the account you sign in with. The only route to a different account name is a new Steam account, and that comes at a cost: Steam's rules say game licences cannot be transferred between accounts, and accounts cannot be merged. Your library stays on the old account.

For most people the better option is to leave the account name alone. Other players never see it, and the profile name and custom URL cover everything public.

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Changing Your Steam Name for Privacy

If you are changing your name because the old one is tied to your real identity, work through this list:

• Change the profile name, then clear previous aliases.
• Change or remove the custom URL if it contains the same handle, since the URL is visible on every link to your profile.
• Review your privacy settings. In Edit Profile, the Privacy Settings section controls who can see your profile details, game library and friends list.
• Check your other accounts. Many gamers reuse one handle on Discord, Twitch, Reddit and Xbox or PlayStation. Changing it on Steam does nothing to those. Search your old handle across 730 sites to see where else it is still registered.

Our guide on how to search yourself online covers what to do with what you find, and if you are renaming because someone is copying your identity, see what to do when someone is using your username.

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Before You Pick a New Name

• Every change is logged. Trying several names in a row fills your public name history with all of them.
• Match your other handles if you stream. A custom URL that matches your Twitch and Discord names makes you easier to find. Check the name is free on those first with a WhatsMyName App search.
• Keep the custom URL stable. It is the part other people save and link to, so changing it often breaks more than changing the profile name.

Looking for someone else's Steam profile instead? Our Steam user search guide explains how to find a profile by its custom URL.

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Changing Your Username on Other Platforms

Steam's split between account name and profile name is unusual. Here is how changing a username works on the other platforms we cover:

Platform	Can you change the username?	Guide
Steam	Profile name and custom URL yes, account name never	This page
X (Twitter)	Yes, any time, and the old handle is released straight away	Change your X username
Fortnite	Epic display name once every two weeks, console names through Sony or Microsoft	Change your Fortnite name
Spotify	No, only the display name	Change your Spotify name
Instagram	Yes, and in most cases you can change back within 14 days	Change your Instagram username

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change my Steam username?

You can change your profile name, which is what other players see, and your custom URL. You cannot change your account name, the one you use to sign in. Steam Support says it cannot be changed, even by its own staff.

How do I change my Steam account name?

You can't. The account name and SteamID are permanent. The only way to get a different account name is to create a new account, and your games cannot be moved to it.

How often can I change my Steam name?

As often as you like. Steam does not limit profile name changes, but each one is added to your public name history.

Can other people see my old Steam names?

Yes. Steam shows up to your last 10 profile names to anyone who opens the list next to your name on your profile. You can clear that list, though third-party sites may already have recorded old names.

What is the difference between a Steam profile name and a custom URL?

The profile name is the display name shown to other players and does not need to be unique. The custom URL is the unique address of your profile, such as steamcommunity.com/id/yourname.

Will changing my Steam name affect my games or friends?

No. Your games, friends, inventory and progress stay on the same account. Only the name shown changes.

How do I find my SteamID?

Go to Edit Profile. If you have never set a custom URL, your 17 digit SteamID is shown in the profile URL. If you have one, clear the Custom URL box to see the ID in the address underneath.