Change the Username Before @gmail.com While Keeping Your Account
Global Rollout in Phases... Some Restrictions Apply
Google is adding a long-awaited feature that allows users to change the username portion of their Gmail address. With this new feature, it is expected that users who use Gmail as their primary account will experience significantly reduced inconvenience.
According to Yonhap News on the 26th (local time), citing Google Account Support pages, users can now change the first part of their Google account email address ending with '@gmail.com' to a desired name.
Even after changing the address, the existing account remains intact, and emails sent to the previous address will still be delivered to the original inbox. Additionally, after making the change, both the old and new addresses can be used to log in to major services such as Google Drive, Maps, YouTube, and Google Play. Photos, messages, files, and other data stored in the account will also remain unchanged without any need for separate transfer. The previous address will remain as a secondary email, allowing both addresses to be used simultaneously.
Previously, changing a Gmail address required creating a new account and manually transferring emails and files, which many users found inconvenient. The American business media outlet CNBC reported, "This change is a feature users have been requesting for a long time," and noted, "There were many users who had to continue using email addresses created with nicknames or playful expressions from their teenage years for work and financial services."
However, there are some restrictions. After changing the address, users cannot create an additional new Google account for 12 months, and it is not possible to delete the newly created account email itself. The changed email address can be reverted to the previous address at any time.
Google stated that this feature will not be made available to all users worldwide at once. The option to change the account email address will be rolled out gradually, so some users may not see the feature immediately. Google has not provided detailed information about the rollout schedule by region.
Meanwhile, the US-based email and spam analysis site SpamResource analyzed millions of email address samples in 2023 and found that the most commonly used email username was 'john.' This was followed by 'mike,' 'steve,' 'david,' and 'mark,' with the top 10 mostly consisting of common male names in English-speaking countries. This suggests that many people prefer to use their own name or a familiar name rather than a separate nickname when creating an email address.
Experts analyze this trend as being due to the fact that email now serves as a 'digital ID card' for individuals, beyond simply being a means of personal communication. Since email addresses are linked to various online service registrations, financial and work authentication, and the receipt of official documents, easy-to-remember real-name IDs continue to be preferred.
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