Facebook is one of the most popular social media networks in the world. There is a popular, funny saying “If you are not on Facebook, it clearly means that you probably do not exist”. While you cannot say it is true as some people stay away from social media, you should admit that being present on social media is important for many people. Today, we are going to cover a topic of changing your name on Facebook. How to do it and why would you do it? Read on to find out.
Why would you change your name on Facebook?
Long story short: to anonymize your presence online. Not everyone feels comfortable with being active under their real name. While Facebook fights with fake accounts, they will probably find it okay if you do some slight modification.
Examples? If your name is John Cat, you can change it to Jon Kat. If your name is Kate Famous, you can change it to Cayt Fam – not to be found in search engine, for example.
source: pixabay.com
Why would people do it? There are more interesting insights coming. For example, teachers not always want their pupils to know everything they do online, so they use other names to stay anonymous for them, but still enjoy the potential of social media.
Of course, there are also different, more “normal” reasons – if you get married (or divorced!), there is a possibility that you would like to change your surname or add another one to your existing surname. After all, you simply want to change your name on Facebook and you want to know how to do it hassle-free.
How to change your name on Facebook – step by step
Obviously Facebook allows you to change your name, however, there is a limit. If you change your name once, you cannot change it back for sixty days. It means that you should really rethink your choice before you press “save” – you will have to stick to your new name for two months on Facebook. While it is widely unknown why Facebook did that, we can guess that it is for limiting their users of changing the name every single day.
To change your name on Facebook, you simply need to go to Settings. The first screen will show a General Account Settings and this where you will see your current Facebook name. If you click on “edit” you will see the option of changing your first name, middle name and surname. Also here, Facebook reminds you of their strict “60 days policy” and tells you to add zero punctuation, special characters, capitalisation or random words. Rules are rules!
You can also add other names here. For example, your birth name if you have changed it in the past, this is also a perfect spot for any nicknames you used or use. This is not going to be shown publicly under your name and surname but can be found in your “about you” tab.
To sum-up
Changing a name on Facebook is fairly easy, but remember that reverting your decision may take up to 60 days. Before you decide on pressing “save”, think twice whether you want to do it as you will have to face the consequences if you have not thought it over. Good luck!
