How to change a name on Hangouts

Hangouts messenger is a popular tool for instant communication in text form and also for audio and video calls, which is widely used for team work management. One of its pluses is that it belongs to the Google's line of product and services and is tied to one general Gmail account. So, all Google users by default have access to this service, and it is not even needed to download the software and install it on PC or laptop — it is available via the browser. Also there are mobile apps for both Android and iOS mobile phones or tablets.

All users are presented in the same way as they set their names in Gmail account personal details. However, it might be needed to change the name in Google Hangouts for some people in the contact list. Here is a tutorial on how to do it is.

How to change the contact names in Hangouts

All users are represented in the service under those names which are defined in their Google accounts. To rename them in Hangouts, you need to edit details there.

1. Log in to your Gmail account on PC or on the smartphone/tablet and navigate to the “Manage your Google account” option — click the profile picture.

   

2. Go to the “Personal info” section to change the details.

   

3. Choose “Name”, and the Edit option will be enabled in this field.

   

4. Enter the new details and save the changes in the account.

After that, your name will be refreshed in all Google services including all versions of the Hangouts messenger.

However, please note that Google lets you change your account names three times only.

Changing someone else's name in Hangouts

If you need to find out how to change Hangouts names of your contacts, this can't be done from your side, unfortunately. You can only ask those people to change their names from their sides like is described above.

However, there is another way out: you can create a group chat with that person only. You can give custom names for such groups and rename them as you wish if needed. These two-members chats won't differ from the personal conversation in functionality, and it will resolve any possible issues with contacts names if your counterparts can't change them themselves for some reason.

To create a group chat, go to the main window of the service. You may use any client (mobile app or the Chrome extension for the desktop) or the web version.

1. Click the “+” icon and choose to create a new group.

   

2. Give that group a name, add just one person and save it.

   

3. The group will be present in the chats list of the application.

   

4. If you need to rename this contact, do the following:
   • Open that group chat and click the default cogwheel icon.
   • Change the account name of the settings and save the new details.

     

5. If you prefer the Chrome browser plugin which performs like a desktop application, choose “Options” from the main menu of the group.

   

6. The procedure is the same in mobile apps.

   

As any user can create as many groups as needed and also be added to multiple groups, it is possible to keep such personal chats with separate contacts and also group chats with several members (chats may include up to 150 participants).

This is how to change Hangouts name for yourself or for another contact.

When this product is used for work communication, its users are usually required to have an account with proper details. However, if this can't be done for some reason, then a group chat for two members only can resolve the issue, and you can continue to use Google Hangouts for personal or business communication, as it remains one of the most widely used tools on the instant messengers market.