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4 Steps to Change your User Folder Name on Windows 11

Detailed steps to follow to successfully change your folder name

6 min. read

Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Key notes

The user folder name and the account name are set during setting up your user account. However, there are times when you need tochange your userfolder name on Windows 11 for some reason.

Unlike renaming standard folders, this process is not as straightforward. But with the right information, the process can be effortless, and that is what we have to offer you in this guide.

Is it safe to rename my user folder name?

As mentioned earlier, changing the user folder name on Windows 11 is not as straightforward as renaming ordinary folders. Even when you change your user account name, the user folder name will still remain the same.

Microsoft advises against changing your user folder name because it might cause some apps not to work. This is because the registered path name for these will have changed from the default.

Though this can be fixed by changing the path of the faulty apps and processes so there is no lasting damage.

But, it is advised not to change your user folder name unless you have a good reason for it.

How can I change my user folder name on Windows 11?

1. Create a new admin account

The first thing to do in the quest to change your user folder name on Windows 11 is to create a new administrator account. This is because you cannot make changes to the account you are currently logged into.

If you don’t want to go through the stress of creating a new admin account, as shown above, you can enable the hidden admin account instead.

After creating the new admin account, you must proceed to the next section to determine your account SID.

2. Determine the SID

Before changing your user folder name on Windows 11, you need to determine the account SID. First, you need to set a user name for your new administrator account to differentiate it from the old one.

Then you need to run a command to determine the SID of the account you want to make changes to. After doing this, you must proceed to the next section to change your user folder name from your registry.

Note that you need to proceed with caution in this step, as mistakes can be costly. Preferably you should create a restore point before proceeding.

3. Modify your registry to change the user folder name

This is the most integral part of this process, and it requires you to be careful. After changing the user folder name in the Registry Editor on Windows 11, you can now proceed to the section below to complete the process.

4. Confirm the change in File Explorer

With this, you have successfully changed your user folder name on Windows 11. If you encounter an error like You can’t perform this action while renaming the folder, it means you did not sign out of the user account properly.

You need to sign out of the account properly or, better still, restart your PC. After completing the process, you can log into the profile with the new folder name and use it normally.

With this, we can conclude this guide on how to change your user folder name on Windows 11. While the process is pretty easy if you follow the steps above, we reiterate that some of your apps might encounter issues.

But you can fix this by changing the path to those apps. In the same vein, if you areunable to rename a standard folder on Windows 11, check our detailed guide to fix it. For more information about this folder, check our guide on how toaccess a user folder from an old hard drive.

Let us know if you encounter any issues applying the steps above in the comments below.

4 Steps to Change your User Folder Name on Windows 11#

Is it safe to rename my user folder name?#

How can I change my user folder name on Windows 11?#

1. Create a new admin account#

2. Determine the SID#

3. Modify your registry to change the user folder name#

4. Confirm the change in File Explorer#