Facebook has gone from being a community chatting room to the largest social media giant in the world. People introduced themselves to this magical virtual world by taking the hand of Facebook. Over the years, the look of this website has changed, and so has its features and policies. With the rising incidents of fraudulent activities in almost every country that has allowed the media giant to operate, its name policies have become stricter than ever. This is why we thought it is imperative to brush up our knowledge about how to change your name on Facebook.
We feel it is very important to go through the rules because no one wants to get banned for something we didn’t intend to do in the first place. Yes, Facebook is very strict with its name and title policies, amounting to banning and, in severe cases, legal action against illegal perpetrators and interceptors. So, without any delay, let’s have a look at the latest name policy of Facebook.
What does the name policy of Facebook say?
Starting from a tiny communication network across a university space to becoming the world’s largest social media platform, Facebook has come a long way. Even before the proliferation of smartphones and their regularization in the last decade, the social media giant had been capturing the market through its ingenious media strategies. And as Facebook grew in its size, as it owned the title of being a giant, it has been changing its policies ever since.
Even the first line of their policy talks about Facebook’s focus on real names. By that, they mean the names with which people usually call or address each other. All the rules have been formulated to save the people from phishing, scams, and impersonation. So, here are the rules:
Any chosen name cannot include the following:
- Unusual capitalization, numbers, symbols, punctuation, or repeating characters.
- The usage of multiple languages in the same name is not allowed. Although people can assign nicknames or mention the same within brackets beside their real name, yet, a single name cannot contain more than one language in it.
- Offensive words are usually made use of for fraudulent and fake profiles, which is why Facebook doesn’t allow in its name policy, any kind of slang.
- Facebook’s algorithm is also intelligent enough to understand that a phrase has been inserted in the place of a name. It will detect such anomalies and won’t allow saving the changes under the naming page.
Pointers to remember while deciding on an account name
- Whatever name one is using for their profiles, should ideally be on any one of the IDs.
- There is a space where one can introduce a second name (a maiden name or nickname).
- It is advisable for only one person to use a profile. For anything else, there are pages, ideas, groups, etc.
While they have still maintained their motto, “It’s free and always will be!” to date, and despite the fact, very many rumors have surrounded this specific quote every now and then. However, as the world meets on Facebook nowadays, and everything emanates from there, they must harp the most on security, honesty, and truthfulness. For this reason, Facebook always had a very strict name policy since that is the primary identification of any person we come across on the platform.
Now that we are aware of Facebook’s strict policies regarding name changing let’s turn to the important part. The question is how to change your name on Facebook. Trust us; it’s as easy as a cakewalk. Follow these steps one by one and see it for yourself:
How to change your name on Facebook?
To change your name on Facebook, these are the steps you got to follow:
Please note that we are beginning with changing the Facebook name from your desktop. The first step obviously involves possessing a Facebook account. We understand you must already have one, but we have to make sure everyone is well aware of all rules.
- Log in to your Facebook account.
- Once you log in, you will find a small triangle pointing to downwards. Click on it.
- In the dropdown menu, you will find Settings. Click on it.
- Once you click Settings, it will prompt you to a page that details your Account Settings.
- By default, the page will be on the general account settings tab.
- The first element of the list under General Account Settings should be Name.
- In the name row, at the right, you will find a blue box inside which ‘Edit’ is written in white.
- Click on Edit.
- Facebook will prompt you to provide your name details there. You will find three white spaces. Beside them are written ‘First’, ‘Middle’, and ‘Last’. Needless to say, you have to put your first, middle, and last names in the respective boxes.
- Next, click on the option ‘Review Change’ after you finish writing down the changed name.
- Once you click there, the changed name will popup on the redirected page. It will show you how the new name will look on your profile.
- If you are satisfied with it, click on the ‘Save’ button.
- In the final dialog box, Facebook will also prompt you to choose from 2 naming styles:
- Suppose you entered the name John Nash, Facebook would give you 2 options:
- John Nash
- Nash John
- Choose any one of the following and save the changes.
- The next step involves entering your password to confirm it is you.
And voila! You have a new Facebook name without actually going through the hassle of creating another account altogether.
How to change your name on Facebook via the mobile app?
If you don’t have any computer in your access and looking to get the job done through the mobile app, you must follow the steps below.
- Review the name standards once.
- Open the Facebook app.
- Tap on the three small parallel lines at the right corner. Or, with the recent update, you will find an option with 3 dots at the same place.
- Once you tap the three lines, the General Account Information tab will open.
- The rest of the process is the same as above.
Once you save the changes, please note you won’t be able to change your name within 30 days. In case Facebook comes across too many changed names, it may extend the time to 60 days.
Conclusion
We feel you have learned how to change your name on Facebook now. This social media platform is successful because of one reason, primarily. And that is its simplicity and ease of use. Finally, not to forget, it has a highly functional Help and Community Centre. It has all the questions and their answers, which people may usually face issues with.
