How to change the sender’s name in Outlook
IONOS editorial team6 mins
Outlook is currently the third most popular email client (behind Apple and Google) globally, with a market share of just under 10 percent. Outlook is considered easy to use and works seamlessly with other Microsoft Office applications. Many mobile and desktop devices support Outlook. In addition to the actual mail client, a comprehensive toolbox for business and private work is available with tasks, contacts, and a calendar.
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From time to time, it may be necessary to change the sender name in Outlook, for example following a department change, when the name of a department changes, or you change your last name after marriage. This makes it possible to make changes without having to create new email accounts. Likewise, Outlook sender names can be amended so that names are assigned to a department, for example sales@domain.com is supplemented with the employee’s name. In this guide, we’ll show you four ways to change the sender in Outlook.
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Change an Outlook sender name in account settings
The Outlook email client makes it easy to swap out which information you include in an email. To change the name of the sender displayed next to the email address, proceed as follows:
- Open account settings
In Outlook, select 'File' and then select 'Account Settings' by clicking on it.
- Select the account you want to change
Mark the email account you want to amend (in the image it is the default account with the tick) and click on 'Change'. Enter the new name.
In the pop-up window 'Change account' select the 'Your Name' window below 'User Information'. Here, you can enter a name that will appear alongside the email address of the sender. Choose 'Next' to proceed.
- Check the result
If you now send an email with the changed sender to another account, the new name 'JOHN DOE' will appear in the preview and the field where the email is displayed.
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An overview of the steps:
- Select 'File' in Outlook > 'account settings' > Activate 'Account settings'
- Select the account you want to change and continue by selecting the 'Change' button
- Enter the new details in the 'Your name' field below 'User information'
- Confirm the process with 'Next' and close
Beware that fraudsters often use the same method. Changed sender names in Outlook can generate greater trust, which is why phishing emails are opened by some people. Our guide on how to protect your email address provides important information on this. Since fraudsters on the Internet are always coming up with new tricks, our article on smishing may be an important read.
Change an Outlook sender name when creating the email
If you want to write a new email and select a different sender, at least one more email account must already be set up. You learn more about this in our corresponding articles:
To change the Outlook sender before the email is sent, select 'From' (1) in the drop-down menu and then the sender email address (2) you’d like to use from the list. This is the address that will send the message, and the email address that the recipient will see in their emails.
Change the reply address of an email
In business communication you may prefer for the recipient of an email not to reply to the sender address, but to an alternative email address. To use this alternative reply address, you don’t have to change the sender in Outlook. In the email that you are composing, simply activate the 'Direct Replies To' (1) selection under 'OPTIONS' (1).
In the 'Properties' pop-up menu, activate the 'Have replies sent to' checkbox (2) and enter the desired email address (3) in the field next to it. Saved addresses are available under 'Select names...'. But any (valid) email addresses can be used. This is useful, for example, when temporarily working from home or outside of the office environment, and the responder won’t need to be made aware of other email accounts. If the recipient clicks on the received email to reply, the stored reply address appears in the 'To...' address field.
Customise Outlook account name and change reply address permanently
When using multiple email accounts in one Outlook client, it is often clearer if the changed sender names are also displayed in the folder area.
To display this in the folder area (1) of Outlook, select the account to be changed as described at the beginning and then click on 'More Settings' (2). In the next menu titled 'Internet e-mail settings' you can now enter the new name for the account (3). Here, you can also use a name plus email address or any other name. If you include an email address under 'Reply email' (4), this will be used permanently when replying to a sent email in the 'To…' address field.
The email client Outlook offers several options to change senders so that preferred sender information is displayed to the recipient. The procedure for changing this is the same across new and older version of Outlook.
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