How to Change Your Twitch Name

Your Twitch username is how you will be recognized by other streamers and viewers. So if you find out that it doesn’t correctly represent you as a streamer, then you can decide whether you want to keep the username or not

Luckily, Twitch allows you to change your current name to a new one that anyone hasn’t picked yet. You can follow our guides below

How to Change your Twitch Channel Username

Step 1: Login to your Twitch account.

Step 2: Click your Twitch account icon at the top right corner and choose “Setting”

Step 3: Click “Channel and Videos”

Step 4: On the “Profile Setting” section, click the Pencil Symbol on the “Username” row

Step 5: Type the new username for your Twitch channel. A green check will appear if the username is available to use. If not, then choose another name for your Twitch account

Step 6:  Click the “Update” button, and Twitch will ask for confirmation by asking for your Twitch account password. After typing your password, your Twitch account username will be changed immediately

After changing your Twitch channel’s name, replace all social media links heading to your Twitch account with your new username link because there is no redirection from the old link to the new link

There is a 60 day period until the next change is allowed. Twitch adds the delay to prevent people from keep changing their Twitch name without any consequence.

It can burden the Twitch server because changing username means Twitch can’t track users based on their previous username. It can be used to troll and spam, which can be bad if they can’t get punished for using this new feature

Your old username will be unavailable for 6 months. After getting a new username, you can’t redo the switch after 6 months, so no regret and think carefully

How to Choose a Good Channel Name on Twitch

When you choose a new username for your Twitch channel, make sure it is short, brandable, and resonating with the type of streamer you are. The username must comply with Twitch Community Guideline and Username policy and doesn’t contain any copyrighted word

Before you come out with any name for your Twitch channel, make sure you don’t rush it. Instead, browse various channels on Twitch to get inspiration.

Take time to think about which name will be best. I recommend you to think for at least 3 days because this decision will shape on how you will be recognized on Twitch in the future

Criteria of Good Twitch Name

These are 7 rules of a good Twitch username you must follow if you want to have a good name for your Twitch channel

1.       Short

Shorter usernames are easier to type and be remembered. Most Twitch streamers have a Twitch name with less than 10 character

2.       Easy to Pronounce

A Good name should be the one that is easy to pronounce, especially for English speakers. Make sure your chosen name passes the radio test. You can do the radio test by checking if people can spell your channel name when they hear it for the first time

3.       Brandable

Branding is important on Twitch, and it’s the first step to make your stream professional. Make sure to choose a unique name for your brand. Don’t add a mainstream word like Pro, Gamer, or any joke word that is common in gaming culture

4.       Not Confusing

Make sure your chosen username doesn’t include a word or character that is easy to be misunderstood. I (i capital) and l (L lowercase) can cause confusion to others. O and 0 are easy to be mistaken with each other. Don’t replace O with 0 if the username has already been taken.

5.       Don’t plagiarize from other streamers

Don’t plagiarism another streamer name. Even though imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, you must respect other streamers’ intellectual property and not plagiarize them. If the streamer complain to Twitch that you plagiarize his name, then Twitch will ask you to change your current name, or else you will get account suspension

6.       No copyright infringement

Make sure your name doesn’t infringe any copyrighted intellectual property. This include game name like “Fortnite” and “GTA”. Even the word “Twitch” is copyrighted by Amazon, and you shouldn’t use it in your name

Funnily, you can still use the word “LoL” because it also means “Laugh out Loud” instead of “League of Legends”

7.       It Doesn’t break the Twitch community Guideline

As a Twitch streamer, you must comply with any rules on Twitch community guidelines. A good recommendation to follow is to choose a family-friendly name for your Twitch channel

Example of Good Twitch username:

a. Ludwig: Short, easy to pronounce

b. Pokimane: 2 words, easy to pronounce, unique

c. xQcOW: Unique, easy to remember

d. Ninja: Short, Easy to remember, brandable

Example of Bad Twitch username

a. Gamer1324: Contain number, not unique, not easy to differentiate with other channels

b. Pr0G4mer: Hard to pronounce, confusing

Why a good channel name is important on Twitch

A good channel name can make it easier for you to progress at the beginning of your streaming journey. When you finally attain the Twitch Partner status, your name will be always be remembered if you follow our rule when you choose your Twitch name at the beginning

Should I Change my Twitch Channel Name?

Changing your Twitch channel name is an important decision you need to think about seriously because you will temporarily lose viewers and followers after changing your channel username. If you want to have a different name that can make you better recognized, then you should change it immediately

Is it Bad to repeatedly Change your Twitch username?

It will take time for Twitch to understand your Twitch channel through their algorithm. If you keep changing your Twitch channel username, your channel will be treated as a new channel, and you will lose most of the advantages you have on Twitch. So only do this procedure once in your streaming lifetime career

How to Get a Twitch Name that has already been taken before?

You can’t get a Twitch username that has already been taken. But if the said user already abandoned his username or Twitch deleted it due to inactivity, you need to wait for 6-month, until the cooldown passes.