Meta:Changing username

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This page provides information about changing usernames

This page permits users to request, and bureaucrats to consider and carry out, username changes. It is generally only possible to rename an account to a name which is not yet taken. Usernames with zero or very few edits may be usurped. Requests regarding SUL can also be filled here.

Instructions

Please follow these instructions carefully to ensure the correct processing of your request.

• Check that the username you are requesting does not yet exist, or has no edits. This may be done via the search function at Special:ListUsers; if the name appears in the list, even if the link is red, the name is taken. Be sure to capitalize the first letter of the username, as the software does not permit usernames that begin with a lowercase letter. Do not create an account under the new name.
• To have your username changed, add a request below. Make sure:
  • You include the name you want to change to.
  • If the name exists, and was created recently, that you have left a message on the talk page asking if the account can be usurped. If there is no response after a month, the name can be taken. Otherwise, older names can be taken without leaving a message.
  • You have logged in under your present username. If necessary, you might want to verify accounts on other projects before requesting.
  • If you are requesting a change to make your username the same as it is on other wikis, please provide a crosslink (some sort of proof that you are the userid you request on the other wiki, such as an edit by that ID there saying you are the old ID here, or a reference to a WikiMatrix). This is to prevent impersonation. The bureaucrat fulfilling your request may choose to do the research him or herself and will in that case document the findings as part of fulfilling the request.
  • To check back periodically to see whether a bureaucrat has fulfilled your request or whether additional information is required. Do not be surprised if you suddenly cannot log in to your old account; this merely indicates that your request has been fulfilled.

Effects of a username change:

• When the rename has been completed, your account will have been renamed, and any contributions you have made (including deleted contributions) will be reattributed to your new account as a background process. Your account preferences, watchlist contents, password, etc. will all be preserved, and your user and user talk pages will have been moved to the new name (unless specifically asked not to).
• The change will appear in the user rename log. There is no way to rename accounts without logging the change.

Notes

• It is not possible for bureaucrats to merge two accounts, or to reattribute edits from IP addresses. Only registered accounts can be renamed.
• This page is for requests on the Meta-Wiki only. To change your username on another Wikimedia project, please ask a bureaucrat on that project or make a request here to have it done by a Steward for wikis without local bureaucrats.
• As an alternative, you may consider changing your signature. This will change your "public appearance" on talk pages and other places where you sign your username with ~~~~.
• It may be easier for you simply to create a new account (although due to technical restrictions, requests to change only the capitalisation or punctuation should be made here). You can then discontinue use of the old one. It does not need to be deleted; disused accounts are harmless and may be safely ignored.
• Account names requested here are regarded as being "reserved" until the request is accepted or rejected. If someone else registers the account while the request is here, it will be renamed if necessary to allow for the requested move.
• Be aware: This change will not affect signatures you have already left on talk pages, or other places where you signed your username with ~~~~. Those pages will continue to display your signature (including the link to your old username) unless edited manually.
• Once you have been renamed, your old account will no longer exist. In general the bureaucrat who deals with the name change should re-create the old account and block it indefinitely. To guard against impersonation, you may wish to check this.
• Of possible interest: the Wikimedia Foundation privacy policy; "Right to vanish"

Requests

Add your request at the bottom of this section.

Epousesquecido → Josette

Please, I would like to change my user name to my real name. Thank you - Epousesquecido 19:17, 15 January 2009 (UTC)

See also

General requests for: help from a Meta sysop or bureaucrat · deletion (speedy deletions: local · multilingual) · URL blacklisting · new languages · interwiki map

Personal requests for: username changes · permissions (global) · bot status · adminship on Meta · CheckUser information (local) · local administrator help

Cooperation requests for: comments (local) (global) · translation