How to change your Gmail address, and what to do if you can't

For years the answer was no: a Gmail address was fixed for life. That has changed. Google now lets some accounts swap a gmail.com address for a different gmail.com address, keep all their data, and keep receiving mail at the old one. Not every account has the option yet, and there are firm limits, so check before you plan around it.

Can you change your Gmail address?

Sometimes. If your account ends in gmail.com, go to myaccount.google.com/google-account-email and look for Change Google Account email. If it is there, you can pick a new gmail.com address. Your old address stays on the account as an alternate, mail sent to it still arrives, and nothing in your account is deleted. If the option is not there, Google says it might not be possible to change it, and your choices are a new account, forwarding, or a different email provider.

First, what do you actually want to change?

Change the name people see

Many people searching for this want to fix the name, not the address. Google's page on changing your Google Account name gives the steps:

1. Sign in to your Google Account.
2. At the top left, click Personal info.
3. Click Name, then Edit next to your current name.
4. Update your name and click Save.

Google says you can change your name as many times as you want. Emails you already sent keep the name you used at the time, and for some products, Gmail included, you might also need to update the name in that product's own settings.

Dots do not make a new address

Google's page Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses explains that if your address is johnsmith@gmail.com, you already own john.smith@gmail.com and every other dotted version. Mail sent to any of them comes to you, and nobody else can register one. Google's change page adds that you can't change the punctuation of your Google Account email, though you can add a dotted version as a send alias. Work and school accounts are different: there, dots do change the address.

Change your Gmail address to a new gmail.com address

These steps come from Google's page on changing your Google Account email.

Step 1: check that you have the option.

1. On a computer, go to myaccount.google.com/google-account-email and sign in if asked.
2. At the top left, click Personal info.
3. Click Email, then Google Account email.
4. Look for Change Google Account email. If it is missing, Google says it might not be possible to change your address.

Step 2: check what might break. Google lists three situations to sort out first: using a Chromebook, using Sign in with Google on non-Google sites, and connecting with Chrome Remote Desktop. It also recommends backing up your data, and warns that some app settings may reset, much like signing in on a new device.

Step 3: make the change.

1. Enter the new username you want. It can't be one that is in use by another Google Account, or one that someone used in the past and then deleted.
2. Click Change email, then Yes, change email.
3. Follow the steps on the screen.

When it is done, your new address is the account email, and the old one shows as an alternate.

What happens to your old address

Google spells this out, and some of it surprises people:

• Your old gmail.com address becomes an alternate email address.
• You receive email at both the old and the new address, in the same inbox.
• Your data is not affected. That includes photos, messages and emails sent to the old address.
• You can sign in with either address on Google services such as Gmail, YouTube, Google Play and Drive.
• You can send from either address.
• Nobody else can ever use the old address, even if you later delete your Google Account. That also means you can't use it to create a new account yourself.
• Older items keep the old address. Google's example is Calendar events created before the change.

The limits

• You can create a new gmail.com address only once every 12 months.
• You can do it three times in total, for four addresses on the account.
• You can switch back to a previous address at any time, but you can't delete the new one.
• You can't remove the old address from the account. Google says the only way to get rid of it completely is to delete the whole Google Account and create a new one.

If you would rather stop seeing mail sent to the old address, Google suggests a filter.

If you can't change it: the other options

Create a new Gmail account

You can create a new Google Account with the address you want. It is a separate account, so plan to move what matters and to keep the old one alive while you do. Our guides to creating a new email account and running a second email account cover the setup.

Forward your old Gmail to the new inbox

Forwarding means anyone who still has your old address reaches you. Google's forwarding page gives the steps:

1. In Gmail on a computer, click Settings, then See all settings.
2. Open the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab (or Forwarding).
3. Click Add a forwarding address, enter the new address, and confirm.
4. Click the verification link Google sends to the new address.
5. Back in Gmail settings, refresh, select Forward a copy of incoming mail to, and choose what happens to the Gmail copy. Google recommends Keep Gmail's copy in the Inbox.
6. Click Save Changes.

Google forwards all new messages except spam. For a fuller walkthrough, including filters for forwarding only some mail, see how to forward Gmail to another email.

One thing to know if you plan to keep replying from inside Gmail: Google's send mail as page says that starting January 2027, Gmail will no longer support the "Send as" feature for third-party addresses such as @yahoo.com or @outlook.com. If your new address is outside Gmail, reply from the new inbox itself.

Update your accounts

A new address only works once the places that send you mail know about it. Start with email recovery addresses and banks, then shopping, subscriptions and everything else. Our guide to changing your email address everywhere has the searches that find every account tied to the old address and the order to change them in.

Switch provider

If the address was only part of the problem, this is the moment to move your mail somewhere else entirely. Forwarding plus account updates is the same work either way. Our guide to switching from Gmail walks through it, and how to delete a Gmail account covers the last step, if you ever take it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change my Gmail address without creating a new account? On some accounts, yes. Check for Change Google Account email at myaccount.google.com/google-account-email. If it is there, you can switch to a new gmail.com address on the same account.

Will I lose my emails if I change my Gmail address? No. Google says the data saved in your account is not affected, and mail to both the old and new addresses arrives in the same inbox.

How many times can I change my Gmail address? Google allows a new gmail.com address once every 12 months, and three times in total.

Can someone else take my old Gmail address? No. Google says no one else can use it, even if you delete your Google Account.

Can I change my Gmail address on my phone? Google's steps start on a computer, at myaccount.google.com/google-account-email.

Can I change a gmail.com address to a non-Gmail address? Only by deleting the Gmail service from your Google Account, according to Google. If you want to keep Gmail, you can add a non-Gmail address as an alternate instead.

If you are picking a new address anyway

If you are choosing a fresh address, it can be somewhere new as well. Secria Mail is free, with no phone number and no card to sign up. Sign-up asks for a name, the address you want and a password. Every plan, free included, uses hybrid post-quantum encryption (ML-KEM-1024 with X25519), and your mail sits in zero-access storage, locked with a key made from your password, on your device. There are no ads, tracking pixels are removed automatically and senders never see your IP address. You can import your old mail. Create your free address.