At some point or another, many YouTube creators think about changing their channel name.
Maybe you’re switching niches and want your channel name to reflect that. Maybe you’re updating the name because you now have permanent collaborators. Or maybe it’s just time for a serious rebrand.
No matter why you want to do it, here’s how to change your YouTube name. We’ll cover both channel names and handles. Plus: We’ll also talk about everything you should consider before you make the switch.
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YouTube Channel Name vs Handle vs URL: What’s the Difference?
Before you change your YouTube name, it’s important to understand the difference between your channel name, URL, and handle.
Your channel name is the title of your channel. It can be pretty much anything you want, as long as it doesn’t violate YouTube’s community guidelines. It doesn’t have to be unique, either – you can have the same channel name as somebody else.
Your channel URL is what people can actually type into their web browser to access your channel directly. By default, your YouTube channel ID – the unique bit in the URL – is 24 random characters long. You can’t change this one. For a long time, though, channels were able to apply for a (much more memorable) custom URL once they’d reached 1,000 subscribers.
In 2022, though, the platform rolled out a new feature: YouTube handles. These are unique identifiers, and also work as YouTube channel URLs. Ever since, you can access channels through URLs like youtube.com/@your_handle. This mirrors how things work on Instagram, X / Twitter, TikTok, Threads and most other social media platforms.
As a result, YouTube no longer issues custom URLs. Also, existing custom URLs can no longer be changed.
They’ll continue to work, though: People can still access your channel through the old URL. They’ll simply be redirected automatically.
So when you’re thinking about changing your YouTube name, you’re actually talking about modifying one of two things: your YouTube channel name or your YouTube handle. Fortunately, they’re both easy to edit – and in the same place, too.
None of this affects the Google account and password you log in with, by the way.
How to Change Your YouTube Channel Name and Handle on Desktop
YouTube makes it pretty easy to modify what your channel is called. The new handles are also simple to set up.
We’ll start by showing you how to do it on the YouTube website (scroll down for how to do it on mobile).
Open YouTube Studio: To change your YouTube channel name on desktop, go to YouTube Studio.
Go to basic info: Next, scroll down in the left-hand menu. The second option from the bottom is Customization, just above Audio Library. In the main window, click on the Basic info tab.
Pick a new name: Here you can change both your channel name and your handle.
Publish the change: When you’re done, make sure to click “Publish” in the top right corner.
And you’re done!
What’s more, you can now also specify translations of your channel name.
How to Change Your YouTube Channel Name and Handle on Mobile
On a mobile device, you have two options to change your YouTube channel name – one for each of the two main YouTube apps.
Option 1: YouTube Studio App
The first option is to use the YouTube Studio mobile app.
Open it up and tap the profile image in the top right corner of your screen. Next, hit “Edit channel profile” in the drop-down menu.
This will take you to a new window with an overview of your channel’s banner, profile image, name, and description. To change your channel name, tap the pencil icon next to it.
This will open a new view in which you can update your channel name. Don’t forget to save when you’re done!
Option 2: YouTube App
The second option to make a name change on mobile is via the regular YouTube app. Here, you can modify both your channel name and YouTube handle.
In the YouTube app, click on your profile icon in the top right corner.
Then select “Your channel”.
In the overview page that appears, tap on the pencil icon that’s beside the “Manage videos” button and the analytics icon.
On the next screen, you can modify both your channel name and handle – just tap the edit icon next to either.
Things to Know About Changing Your YouTube Name
When you change your YouTube channel name (or your handle), there are a few things to keep in mind.
You should choose a YouTube name that reflects your content, both as a channel name and a handle. This helps set your viewers’ expectations. It ought to be memorable and catchy. Consistency is important, so your content and channel should fit a set of brand guidelines or branding kits to ensure your viewers can get familiar your brand.
If you haven’t already, it might therefore be a good idea to pick the same handle you’re using on other platforms. This makes it more memorable.
There’s one restriction on this: YouTube handles must be unique. If someone else is already using the handle you’d like, you’ll have to modify it. You’ve probably seen people do this using numbers, underscores or other variations.
Handles can be between 3 and 30 characters long, and can be made up of numbers and letters as well as underscores, hyphens, or periods. (There are exceptions for letters in other alphabets.)
Channel names are less restricted. Like handles, they need to adhere to YouTube’s community guidelines, though. They can’t be violent, offensive, sexualized, or spammy. Impersonation of other channels is also a no-no. You do get 100 characters to play with, but it’s a good idea to keep it to three words max.
Keep in mind that a changed channel name is visible only to your YouTube audience.
A changed handle, however, means your “address” on YouTube changes as well. This is important if you link back to your channel on other sites using your handle URL. You’ll have to refresh it everywhere!
Finally: If you want to change back to your old YouTube handle, you can do so within a 14-day period – then it’s up for grabs.
Verification Status
If your channel is verified, a word of caution: If you change your channel name, you will lose the verification badge, and you’ll have to reapply for it. That’s because a lot of recognition value is tied up in your name.
Changing your handle is fine – it won’t affect the checkmark.
Translations
One last thing: Like we mentioned before, YouTube now lets you set up translations of your channel name. That way, it’ll also make sense for people in other languages and regions, which is good for engagement.
However, if you’ve got some of those already, you’ll need to delete all translations first (and, if you want, set new ones afterward).
That’s to prevent confusion over mismatching names in different languages.
The Bottom Line
Changing your YouTube name – both your channel name and your handle – is fairly easy. You can do so both on desktop using YouTube Studio and on mobile using the YouTube app and the YouTube Studio app.
Before you pick your new channel name, though, reflect carefully on what suits your YouTube identity best – and make sure it meets all the platform’s requirements.
FAQs
Yes. You can pick a new YouTube handle, which will also give you a new URL, which will look like this: youtube.com/@your_new_handle.
Yes, there can be several channels with the exact same name. However, your YouTube @handle has to be unique.
No, they won’t. If people use the old custom URL to get to your channel, they’ll be redirected automatically.
It can take a few days for your new channel name to show up everywhere. Usually, it’ll replace the old name quickly, but don’t worry if it takes a little time.
No. YouTube handles must be unique.
You can still use the same channel name as somebody else. If they’re in a similar niche, though, you should probably choose something more distinct. YouTube handles must be unique, however.
You can get the unique channel ID from a channel’s description. Hit the “more” link, then use the “Share channel” button at the bottom and pick the “copy” option.
