When your friends or colleagues get an email from you, what does the “from” name say? Do you even know? We’ve all seen messages come through that appear to be from “Work” or “Gmail.” It’s an easy mistake to have made, and just as simple to fix—if you know what you’re doing.
I’ve noticed the problem is more common among iPhone and iPad users. My guess is that, if this has happened to you, the fields where your “from” name is stored used to be labeled very poorly in iOS. If you set up your email in iOS long ago, it’s possible you labeled your “from” name incorrectly without knowing it.
The good news is that the fields are labeled much more clearly now, so fixing your email “from” name in iOS is simple and quick to do. It’s also simple to find and fix in Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo! Mail. Android users don’t typically have to futz with anything because the settings are tied to the email account and not some other settings in the phone.
If you haven’t checked in a while, or if you’ve had a name change and want to make your online identity consistent across platforms, take two minutes to do it now. It won’t take long enough to reduce your productivity for the day, and it can pay both personal and business dividends, depending on which email accounts need to be fixed.
How to Fix Your Email ‘From’ Name in Gmail;
1. Log into Google, go to the cog icon at the top right, and choose Settings.
2. Navigate to the Accounts and Imports tab.
3. Look for the area labeled “Send mail as:” and you’ll see how your “from” name currently appears. Click the link called “edit info” to change it.
4. A new window will appear. Select either your Google account name, or type in a custom name below it.
5. Save changes, and you’re done.
