How to Change Your Discord Username: Rules and Limits

You can change your Discord username from User Settings, then My Account, by pressing Edit next to Username, typing the new name and confirming with your password; on mobile it is under Settings, then Account, then Username. Discord limits username changes to two per week, and every username must be unique, lowercase and 2 to 32 characters long. If you only want to change how your name looks to others, change your display name instead, which has no weekly limit at all.

The rules and steps below were checked against Discord's Help Center articles on changing your username, the New Usernames and Display Names article, the trademark article on usernames and the Warning System article, in November 2026.

Username, Display Name or Nickname?

Discord gives every account three kinds of names, and most "how do I change my name" questions are really about one of the other two. Picking the right one saves you a weekly change you might want later.

• Username. Your unique identifier, shown with an @ and used to add you as a friend. No two accounts can share one. This is the name with the twice-a-week limit.
• Display name. How you primarily appear across Discord in DMs, friend requests and servers where you have no nickname. It can include spaces, capitals, non-Latin characters and emoji, and you can change it whenever you like.
• Server nickname. A name for one specific server, set by you or by someone with permission in that server. It overrides your display name there only.
• Friend nickname. A private label you give a friend in your own DMs. They cannot see it.

Discord's own example makes the order clear: if your display name is "Phibi" but your nickname in one server is "Wumpus," you appear as Wumpus in that server and Phibi everywhere else. Friend and server nicknames take priority wherever they are set.

Changing Your Username Step by Step

On desktop or in a browser:

1. Open User Settings with the gear icon next to your name.
2. On the My Account tab, press Edit next to Username.
3. Type the new username, keeping to the character rules listed further down.
4. Enter your password to confirm.

On the iOS or Android app, open the profile tab in the bottom right corner, choose Account, then Username, and update it there. If your account still shows an "Action needed" notice at the top of My Account or settings, the Get Started button in that notice takes you into the same flow.

One requirement catches newer accounts: Discord says your account must be verified by email or phone number to claim a new username. If the change will not go through, check for a verification banner in My Account first. Discord also notes that if a brand-new account is not verified, five random digits are added to the end of its username seven days after the account is created, which is a common surprise for people who signed up and never confirmed their email.

The Rules Every Username Must Follow

Discord's username system has been in place since it removed the old four-digit tags. These are the restrictions as written in its Help Center:

• Between 2 and 32 characters long.
• Lowercase only; usernames are case insensitive and forced to lowercase.
• Latin letters a to z, numbers 0 to 9, underscores and periods. No other special characters.
• No two periods in a row. Discord's example: ".a.b." is allowed, "a..b." is not.
• Unique to one account.
• Must follow the Community Guidelines, so no names impersonating Discord or its staff, impersonating a person, group or organization, attacking others or containing sexually explicit language.

The two-changes-per-week limit is the rule that matters most in practice. If you are experimenting, settle the display name first and only change the username once you are sure, otherwise you can lock yourself out of further changes for several days.

Display names have looser rules: 1 to 32 characters, special characters and emoji allowed, and the same Community Guidelines limits on impersonation, hate and explicit language. You can change a display name from one minute to the next under User Settings, My Account, Profiles.

Setting Display Names and Server Nicknames

Because display names are not unique, they are the right tool for showing your real name, a stylized handle or a name with spaces. When Discord moved everyone to unique usernames, it pre-filled each display name with the person's old username so friends would still recognize them, but you are free to replace it.

For a different name in a single community, set a server nickname. Discord's article points to User Settings, then Profiles, then Per-server Profiles, where you pick the server and enter the nickname. Server staff with the right permission can also set or change nicknames for members, and Discord's roles article notes that members cannot change the nicknames of people with equal or higher roles.

Friend nicknames are the most private option. Right-click a friend's avatar and choose Add Friend Nickname, and the label shows only on your side of the conversation. These are handy for telling apart several friends who all use similar display names.

When people mention you in a server, they can search by your display name or username. If you have a server nickname there, that is what appears in the mention; otherwise your display name shows.

When the Name You Want Is Taken

Since usernames are unique, the short or obvious ones went quickly. Discord's suggestion for a taken name is to add numbers, underscores or periods to make a variation. Our explainer on Discord OG usernames covers why very short names are so scarce.

Brand owners sometimes assume a trademark lets them claim a username. Discord's trademark article says that simply using a word with trademark protection in a username is not automatically infringement. It acts on trademark complaints only when the reported account is engaged in commerce or trades on the name in a misleading way, and it encourages brands to build their presence around a server instead.

Names do come back into circulation in one situation Discord documents. When an account is permanently suspended, its owner gets a grace period to appeal, after which the username is made available again. Our Discord ban appeal guide explains that window from the suspended user's side. If a hijacker renamed your account, the fix is to recover it first, as described in our account recovery guide, and then change the name back within the weekly limit.

Choosing a Username You Will Not Regret

With only two changes a week and every good name contested, it is worth thinking before you type. Because usernames are forced to lowercase, a name that reads well with capitals can become a jumble; "bigredfox" is easier to read as "big.red.fox" or "big_red_fox." Periods and underscores are your only separators, so use them for readability rather than decoration.

Leave out details you would not post publicly, such as a birth year, school name or surname, because your username is what people type to send you a friend request. If you want to be recognizable across platforms, using the same handle you use elsewhere helps friends find you, but check it is free on Discord before changing it anywhere else.

Your username also works as a safety check for other people. Discord's own guidance is that when you receive a friend or message request, you can use the combination of display name and unique username to confirm who someone really is. Display names can be copied by anyone, but the username cannot, so a scammer posing as a friend will always have a different username even if the display name and avatar match. Keeping your own username stable makes you easier to verify in exactly the same way.

Old Tags and the Legacy Username Badge

From 2015 until the switch, Discord usernames were case sensitive and carried a four-digit discriminator such as #0001, which let thousands of people share the same name. Discord removed discriminators in favor of unique usernames, and starting March 4, 2024, it began assigning new usernames to anyone who had not picked one, trying to keep them similar to the old name.

To help friends find each other during the change, Discord added a badge that shows your old name and tag when someone hovers over it. You can hide it: on desktop go to User Settings, Profiles and turn off the Legacy Username Badge toggle, and on mobile tap the You tab, choose Edit Profile and switch it off there. Our Discord badges guide lists the other profile badges you might see.

Your username also sits alongside other things on your profile. If you want people to recognize you across platforms, linking accounts like Xbox, Steam or Spotify shows them on your profile, which our guide to Discord account connections covers. And if the reason for a rename is a fresh start with a new email too, see our steps for changing your Discord email.

Short Usernames and Account Listings

Rare short usernames are a big part of why aged accounts attract interest. The store's Discord page shows listings from third-party sellers, many built around three- or four-letter names, and the selection rotates daily. Before going further, note that Discord's Terms of Service specifically say users agree not to license, sell, lend or transfer their account, Discord username, vanity URL or other unique identifier without Discord's prior written approval.

Any account, however it was created, is bound by the same rename rules described above: the username must stay within the character limits and guidelines, and it can only change twice a week.

Frequently Asked Questions