How To Change Your Steam Account Name

Steam is one of the most popular platforms among modern gamers, providing easy access to many of the top PC games and connecting eSports players.

Counter-Strike, PUBG, and Dota 2 are just some of the most popular.

Playing these games via Steam requires an active user account with an associated username. Your Steam username is how other gamers will see you during multiplayer sessions.

If another gamer wishes to include you in their Steam friends list, they typically search for you by using your username.

This article offers a thorough, straightforward guide on how to modify your Steam username swiftly and effortlessly.

How To Change Your Steam Username

Before looking at how to change your username, there are a few things that every Steam user should know:

• Your Steam account name cannot be changed under any circumstances. Steam support won’t be able to assist with this, so choose your account name carefully
• A Steam account name is not the same as a “profile name,” and each serves a different purpose.
• You use your Steam account name to log into Steam, not your profile name.

You can easily change your username/profile name. The screenshots below will help guide you through the process.

1. Log into your Steam account. You can do this either through your web browser or by downloading and installing the Steam client on your PC.
   
2. Navigate to the top right corner and click on your profile name. You can also click on the other profile name, which is located in the top left. Both methods will take you to your profile section, so it doesn’t matter which you choose.
   
   
3. Click on “Edit profile” to access your Steam account settings. You will see several different options, but the one you need is located in the “General” section on the left.
   
4. The field you need to modify is called “Profile Name.” All you need to do is enter a custom profile name you want to be identified by. Unlike your Steam account name, you don’t have to worry about making your profile name unique.
   
   

If you have chosen a popular name and your friends have trouble finding your Steam account, there are other ways to help them. We have a guide on how to set a custom Steam URL.

Are There Any Downsides To Changing My Steam Profile Name?

Steam users choose their nicknames when they first create their accounts. For many of us, this means many years ago. Our interests and how we wish to express ourselves can change a great deal throughout the years. If you’ve had your account for a long time and you’re embarrassed by your profile name, there’s no reason you can’t change it.

Keep in mind that many of your existing Steam friends will probably identify you by your old nickname, so suddenly changing it can lead to confusion.

Steam has an automated message that informs the person you’re chatting with that you have recently changed your profile name. Steam actively warns against scams where people try to impersonate others and request high-value items.

The best way to check whether or not the person you are talking to is who they claim is by looking at their previous aliases. Navigate to their profile and view the dropdown list, as shown in the screenshot below.

However, you still need to be cautious, as users can remove their previous aliases.

Adding Custom Nicknames And Checking History (Previous Nicknames)

Some Steam users frequently change their profile names. Sometimes they do this for fun; other times, because they grow tired of their existing names. In any case, this can make things confusing for you.

If you have a larger friends list, it can become very difficult to find specific friends.

Fortunately, Steam allows you to set custom nicknames for anybody in your friends list and view a list of their previous names, which is very useful. View the screenshot below for more information.

If you’re still unsure how to achieve this, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to add a custom nickname for one of your Steam friends:

1. Left-click on the bottom right corner, where it says “Friends & Chat” on the Steam app.
2. After your friends list opens up, click the little arrow pointing downwards. The arrow appears when you hover over the name of a friend with your cursor.
3. Select “Manage” and then “Add Nickname” if you wish to add a custom nickname or “Recent Names” if you want to view the previous names of that user. This should help you identify any friends who have a habit of regularly changing their nicknames.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to change your Steam profile name, you can easily change your in-game identity and better match it with your new profile design or avatar.

Some Steam users download extensions for friends list management, but this is not recommended as it can interfere with Valve’s Anti Cheat System (VAC) and might even result in a ban. Steam has already added a significant amount of functionality to the social aspect of its platform, so you shouldn’t have any issues using the built-in features.