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How to Change Your Twitter Username ID

By Rick on Aug 10, 2008 in Internet Marketing, Social Media

When I first got on Twitter I had no idea that the username would be SO IMPORTANT.

In fact, if you are trying to use Twitter to get famous, attract clients, or grow your business your Twitter Username is as important as your domain name in the social media world!

I originally got /Rick_Butts – thinking that this would be a good display name. This mean I had to tell people Rick UNDERSCORE Butts – and then I had to type the darn thing over and over.

As my followers began to grow I ran in and was lucky to grab http://twitter.com/rickbutts in a separate account.

Now, with more than 1000 followers – how can I change my username in Twitter so I don’t lose my followers?

Turns, out it was really easy.

How to Change Your Twitter Username

1. Login to new account at Twitter.com/rickbutts and change the username to /rickbutts1

Then log out and…

2. Go to the old established account (the one with all your followers) and change /Rick_Butts to /rickbutts

Log out and go back to…

3. Go to the account that you renamed /rickbutts1 and change that username to /Rick_Butts – so that no one else can grab it – and so that summize links won’t be dead.

4. Leave a note there about your correct username in case new people come there looking for you from an old NON-TWITTER link.

You Will Not Lose Your Followers

You will keep ALL your followers – and everyone’s address book will be automatically updated – so you are totally cool.

Everything on Twitter will note the change – you just want to insure that old links go somewhere that people can find you – but, once again, all your Twitter stuff will work perfectly!

If this is helpful to you – please link to this post with the anchor text How to Change Your Username on Twitter and link directly to the permalink (see below).

If you want to add anything to this post – please leave it in the comments and I will check out what you say – add it to this post and give you credit and update this post so it is entirely accurate.

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  1. 51 Comment(s)

  2. By Sam Adkins on Aug 10, 2008 | Reply

    Hey Rick,
    Nice post as I was just thinking about changing mine and wondering how it’s done. The trouble is someone already had my name ’samadkins’ so I got ’samadkinshom’ but I was thinking of ’samadkins1′ but is there any point do you think in changingit if i can’t grab just my name because noone would be able to search it with an added 1 or underscore?
    What do ya fink?
    Sam

  3. By Cynthia Clinton on Aug 10, 2008 | Reply

    Very cool, sir! That procedure’s scarier than it is difficult. I’m glad you posted, I was curious.

    Cynthia Clintons last blog post..Mindfulness – The Secret To Enacting Personal Change

  4. By Rick on Aug 10, 2008 | Reply

    Sam

    I’d grab samanthaadkinds or thesamadkins or even use a business handle like masscontrolkern does and remember – your real name field is different than your username.

    I know you are known as “sam” but women seem to get more mileage on Twitter (sorry if you think that’s mysoginistic (sp) but it’s not.

    That’s why I mention the samantha – Ed_Dale seems to survive with an underscore – and I managed to get more than 1000 followers with one…

    Hope that is helpful,
    Rick

  5. By Sam Adkins on Aug 10, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks for the advice Rick! Appreciate it :)

  6. By Jeanette on Aug 10, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks for the directions. I tried to tell my friends to use their real name, but they are stuck in the old IM mode. At least they can switch after they get the value of twitter.

    Joy~

    @jeanettejoy

  7. By Gary Graye on Aug 11, 2008 | Reply

    I was only thinking of how to change my twitter name a couple of days ago. This really helps. Many thanks Rick, not just for this post but for being part of my continuing education.

  8. By Andrea Kalli on Aug 11, 2008 | Reply

    I changed my Twitter name about a month after I started using Twitter. That was the easy part. There were several apps that were connected to Twitter that I had to go in an update my Twitter name in, such as OutTwit, Friendfeed, ping.fm, hellotxt, Facebook, etc.

    It was easy, but you have to remember what you’ve got connected to Twitter, then check to see if you need to update things.

    Andrea

  9. By XIII on Aug 11, 2008 | Reply

    Nifty, I hope it’s not just some bug they forgot to patch. Good find!

    XIIIs last blog post..Blog redesign

  10. By Mike Staskiewicz on Aug 11, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks for the article…

    Note that if you have only one Twitter ID, just click the “settings” link when you are logged in, and in the “account tab”… just start changing your username. Then save. Easy.

    Mike Staskiewiczs last blog post..mikestask: make that "hours"…

  11. By Lori Bonaparte on Aug 11, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks for this information. I was interested in doing this but too lazy to hunt down the info. I saw your link on Twitter and poof! – information delivered. I’m going to Digg it to make sure that others can find this when they need it too.

  12. By Cutressa M Williams on Aug 12, 2008 | Reply

    It was scary thinking about changing… but I knew it needed to be done… it was actually very easy… unfortunately my name is too long for Twitter, so I still had to chose something that “reflects” me … but I am happy w/the new name…

    Thank you Rick for sharing!

    _cmw :-)
    now @ceocutressa
    formally @richgirl1973, but still richgirl1973 at heart!

    Cutressa M Williamss last blog post..ceocutressa: I just updated my name to better reflect my business … did it work? like the change?

  13. By Rick on Aug 14, 2008 | Reply

    Yes, Deb, thanks for the support!

    All my friends said GO! So I finally ran out of people to call up and try to get to talk me out of it.

    I’m using my fancy http://Woopra.com software to see who is on my site – right now I can actually see coach deb is on my site on the “how to change your twitter username id” blog post.

    I’ve tried to IM ya on the on site chat – but it probably scared ya – it would freak me out too!

    Thanks everyone for the wonderful words of encouragement.

    Rick

  14. By @CoachDeb on Aug 14, 2008 | Reply

    hmmm…uh…er….”scared” wasn’t the description iiiii’d use… but – uh… ok – let’s call it scared when i saw an IM woooooopra pop up while I was typin up my comment
    :P

    all i know – is I’m glad YOU made the _ change – BRAVA!

    i can’t tell u the heat i get from others who resist this change… but slowly… I’m seeing them breakdown and get their name sans underscore.

    so this is good.

    I think my new policy will be – no free advice / coaching. I’ll just nod & say – niiiiiice. :)

    funny how you’re not appreciated when you offer freely eh?

  15. By @CoachDeb on Aug 14, 2008 | Reply

    @ceocutressa
    formally @richgirl1973

    NOTE: If you’ve been using @richgirl1973 for any length of time, establishing a brand and links from that twitter ID – you’ll want to create a separate Twitter account (with different email address) and Grab @richgirl1973 back before anyone ELSE does!

    Currently, there are people who’ve talked to you and if you click on their links to you – it shows up as that person doesn’t exist.

    Instead – grab the @richgirl1973 and have your 1st and last tweet say: Please follow me at @CEOcutressa my NEW TwitID

    @CoachDeb

    PS: oh crud!
    just when i said NO to giving any more free coaching.
    ok then – feel free to deposit $397 into my paypal account and we’ll call it even. :P

  16. By StumbleUpon on Aug 30, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks for the informative post.. and thanks for adding our comment to the blog. I am subscribing to your feed so I don\’t miss the next post!

  17. By Helge on Sep 9, 2008 | Reply

    Thanks Rick, very helpful.

    Helges last blog post..Warum ist Polygamie verboten und tabu?

  18. By Maggie McGary on Sep 10, 2008 | Reply

    Hey–thanks–someone just asked me how to do this the other day and I didn’t know.

    Maggie McGarys last blog post..Would you let Twittad pimp your Twitter profile for cash?

  19. By Joe Blo on Nov 12, 2008 | Reply

    Seriously, it was really *that* hard to figure this out on your own? You need step-by-step instructions to swap two Twitter accounts?

  20. By Rajeev Edmonds on Nov 16, 2008 | Reply

    Very interesting technique indeed. A life saver for those who created their twitter ids in hurry and later realized it.

    Stumbled :)

  21. By Rachel on Dec 1, 2008 | Reply

    My question/concern is – do you loose all your @’s and DM’s when you change your ID in settings?

  22. By Scott on Dec 10, 2008 | Reply

    Rachel,

    I followed the directions exactly and did not lose my replies or directs.

    Scott…

    Scotts last blog post..Back room deals? Norfolk politics makes my head spin!

  23. By Rachel on Dec 11, 2008 | Reply

    I did take the leap & changed my ID a week or two ago & didn’t loose anything. Seamless transition (just had to remember to update my ID throughout the Web where I had the old listed).

  24. By R Mishra on Dec 17, 2008 | Reply

    Will I be able to retain all my old updates if I change my user name?

  25. By Chris on Jan 1, 2009 | Reply

    Rick,

    Thanks for the post. I just followed your instructions and it worked like a charm. Thought I was going to have to start over and am really glad that I don’t. :)

    -chris

    Chriss last blog post..Hallicious: @chimoose Ha! Delicious it is… Hallacious.com was taken. My fav was Halltomaton (automaton) but my focus group gave it the thumbs down :)

  26. By Travelwriter on Jan 10, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks for the guidance, especially for the hint, do provide a second account for bearing the old name!

  27. By Anita Johnson on Jan 11, 2009 | Reply

    Well, the instructions were easy enough, but for me, it was just plain scary! I didn’t realize I shouldn’t have added anyone to the NEW account and then I had trouble logging back in to both accounts! Seems the passwords are now reversed. And now that I’ve unfollowed all the people I added in the New (now Old) account, I’ve been locked out! I think I’ll wait a while before trying to login to my formerly old, now NEW account. Sheeesh!

    Anita Johnsons last blog post..My First Survey . . . Will You Help Me Out?

  28. By Roz Fruchtman on Jan 25, 2009 | Reply

    Great Post Rick:

    What I would like to find out is how to consolidate two Twitter accounts. Well, that is not exactly accurate… Here’s the deal:

    Like you, when I first started on Twitter I was not sure about names and how things went. @CoachDeb said not to use underscores and I did not! Thanks @CoachDeb! (See I do listen! :)

    I took my name and then my biz name. I have now converted to using my biz name primarily. I would like to get the followers from name account to follow me on biz account. This is where they will meet the “real Roz!” Some are, but I see that some others are still not following me at primary account!

    Thanks again for instructions on changing Twitter ID names.

    Roz
    http://www.Twitter.com/SayItWithEcards

  29. By Devin on Jan 28, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks for the help. Definitely helps the personal brand.

  30. By Debra Simpson on Jan 28, 2009 | Reply

    I have my own name, debrasimpson, and I have my business name, northsandiego. I wanted to establish a twitter identity with the business name for when I sell the business down the road. Does that make sense?

    Debra Simpsons last blog post..Sabrina Gibson, Smart and Sticky Marketing

  31. By Jeff Simpkins on Mar 1, 2009 | Reply

    Rick, great post. Extremely useful information and well written! Not only did I use the information to get a better Twitter ID for myself, I referred to it in a post for community bankers. You can see the post at: http://blog.communitybankconsulting.com/2009/03/twitter-and-the-communtiy-bank.html Thanks for the great work and great information!

  32. By Richard on Mar 2, 2009 | Reply

    Useful post – we’ve got quite a few Twitter accounts, and a few of them needed changing to maintain consistency!

  33. By Jack on Mar 9, 2009 | Reply

    Great instruction … brings up another thought though … I’m wondering if it might be possible to consolidate (merge) two twitter accounts?

    Jacks last blog post..write recipe

  34. By DougBoonJohnson on Mar 19, 2009 | Reply

    Nice post Rick. . .except that it won’t let me change my old user name, as it says it’s already been used.

    Will keep trying.

  35. By John on Mar 23, 2009 | Reply

    Great article. I use Qwitter and it sent me an alert for every follower notifying me that they had all unfollowed me so… you’re article could be even better if you instructed to turn off Qwitter for the original account prior to following your steps. Cheers!

  36. By Laurie PK on Mar 28, 2009 | Reply

    Rick,

    Do you know if I can change to caps without going through the above process?

    That is, I’m @quipsandtips. I want to be @QuipsAndTips. Can I just change it in my settings?

    Thanks,
    Laurie

    Laurie PKs last blog post..10 Tips for Getting Out of Debt

  37. By Michelle Golden on Mar 29, 2009 | Reply

    Rick, thank you a TON, I had done what you did…grabbed my full name…but had no idea making the switch could be this easy. Linking to THIS post will be my first tweet under my full name handle. You rock. Thank you!!! @goldenm AND @michellegolden

    Michelle Goldens last blog post..Social Media: The Unavoidable Intersection of Your Business & Personal Life

  38. By Laura Powers on Apr 4, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks a lot for this post. When I first set up my Twitter account I picked a really difficult user name and was afraid to switch it. I just changed it using your directions and it worked perfectly.

  39. By Alison Rothwell on Apr 11, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks for the advice – I’ve taken the plunge and moved from my brand name to my “real name” :)

    Alison Rothwells last blog post..Why I’ve Changed my Twitter Name

  40. By Rudy on Apr 13, 2009 | Reply

    Rick…

    Thanks for the information as in my head I’m going through a particular thought process regarding me username. on Twitter whcih is TwilightNewsMan

    I originally wanted it to be TwilightNewsBeat like my website but due to the username limitation I’m over by one chracter. Should I stay with what i have (the present name is pretty recent) or should I consider a new name

    Thanks again…
    RudyK

  41. By Internet Marketing Connections on Apr 13, 2009 | Reply

    Great post Rick! Really vaiuable info…linked it!

    Internet Marketing Connectionss last blog post..Your Twitter Username & How to Change It

  42. By Jeff on Apr 15, 2009 | Reply

    Can i check, the old twitter username- can I delete it off after i move all to the new name or do i need to keep it?

  43. By Emer Lawn on Apr 16, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks a million for this post. Will really help us when we decide if we’re going to change our Twitter name to help people find us better!

  44. By Twitter_Tips on May 4, 2009 | Reply

    Glad to hear that worked. It has failed in the past. Changing to a name that was recently used used to give the “name unavailable” message. Tried it several times. So makes me concerned that this might not always work.

    In other words, each name, once created, was unavailable to be used again, regardless of whether it became “available” by changing the name on the account it first existed on. So using a name then changing the name to something else made the original name unavailable.

  45. By Stefanie Zucker on May 22, 2009 | Reply

    Actually I ran into the same problem as the last person who commented. I grabbed the twitter name I wanted. Then I changed the new account name so I could go into my old account and grab it and it was unavailable to be accessed by my old account. When I went to switch it back and it was unavailable to the new account as well. So now the name I want is unaccessable alltogether. Help, please!!

    Stefanie Zuckers last blog post..The littlest victims of the recession

  46. By Stefanie Zucker on May 23, 2009 | Reply

    It worked. It took Twitter 48 hours to release the name I wanted, but they finally did and then I went on and completed the rest of the instructions. Phewww… A little scary, but wanted to tell folks that it does work, but be warned – Twitter may make this a little more work than it has to be…
    Hope this helps…

    Stefanie Zuckers last blog post..The littlest victims of the recession

  47. By Marc on Jun 4, 2009 | Reply

    It definitely works, i did it like two weeks ago :)

    Marcs last blog post..President Alvaro Colom Accused of Murder

  48. By Aaress @ On the Baseline on Jun 6, 2009 | Reply

    Thanks for the tip! It worked perfectly!

    Aaress @ On the Baselines last blog post..Svetlana Kuznetsova Captures Second Career Grand Slam Title at French Open

  49. By Henrietta on Jul 2, 2009 | Reply

    I cannot get logged into my account now! Does it usually take awhile to be able to log in to your account when you change the user name? I’m so upset that it won’t let me log in :( It also won’t let me grab my old user name, it just says that it is unavailable. I will keep trying and HOPE that it just takes a bit for twitter to recognize!
    Henrietta´s last blog ..Twitter Woes My ComLuv Profile

  50. By Taz on Jul 25, 2009 | Reply

    Hello,

    Great information. I was able to change my id without any problem. Now I got a small issue and hope you can help me. Whenever I log-in to twitter.com it logs me fine with my new id but when I want to update twit or use any of the other tabs follower, following etc I get the Authentication Required box with my old username and password that I have to change every time to my new one. How do I get it to save my new one and now show the old one? The Use password manager to remember this password is checked.
    Thanks much
    Taz

  51. By tim on Aug 4, 2009 | Reply

    Great walk through! Simple, to the point and most important. It worked!

  52. By Kris on Aug 26, 2009 | Reply

    Thank you so much for this post! I had the same problem and was confused at how to ‘merge’ the accounts without losing followers. Thank you for helping!

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