How to Change the Administrator Name in Windows 10

This article describes how to change the built-in Administrator account name in Windows 10 to bolster your computer's security. We'll also look at how to change the name of other accounts that have admin privileges.

Use one of these first three methods if you’re changing the built-in Administrator account name. The last method works only for regular accounts that have admin rights.

Local Security Policy

This is the quickest method, even if you've never heard of or used this part of Windows. There's a policy called Accounts: Rename administrator account that's easy to edit.

1. Open the Run dialog box with the Win+R keyboard shortcut.

2. Type this and then choose OK:

   secpol.msc
   

3. Go to Local Policies > Security Options and double-click Accounts: Rename administrator account.

4. Enter a new name and then select OK. You can now close out of the Local Security Policy window.

Computer Management

The Power User Menu provides access to Computer Management, the next best way to change the Administrator account name.

1. Right-click the Start button or press Win+X, and choose Computer Management from the menu.

2. From the left panel, open System Tools > Local Users and Groups > Users.

   You might not see this screen depending on your edition of Windows 10. Use the Command Prompt method below instead.

3. Right-click Administrator from the right side and choose Rename. This is the same way you can rename other accounts.

4. Enter a new name and then press Enter. You can now exit Computer Management.

Command Prompt

You can also use the powerful Command Prompt. It isn't as straightforward as the methods described above because you have to type out a particular command for it to work.

Here's exactly how it's done:

1. Open Command Prompt as admin. The fastest method is to search for cmd from the search bar, right-click the result, and select Run as administrator.

2. Type this, changing NewName to the name you want to use:

   wmic useraccount where name='Administrator' rename 'NewName'
   

3. Press Enter to submit the command. You’ll know it ran correctly if you see a Method execution successful message. You can now exit Command Prompt.

Control Panel

If you do not want to change the name for the built-in Administrator account but instead just a user with admin privileges (or even one without), it’s much easier through Control Panel.

1. Open Control Panel. The quickest way to find it is to type Control Panel in the search bar near the Start button.

2. Select User Accounts. If you see it again on the next screen, choose User Accounts once more.

3. Select Change your account name.

   Don’t see it? You’re using your Microsoft account to log in, so you’ll need to change the name from your profile page on Microsoft’s website instead of following these steps.

   To change the account name for a different user (it won’t work for the built-in Administrator account), select Manage another account, choose the account, and select Change the account name.

4. Enter a new name in the box provided.

5. Select Change Name. You can now exit the window.

Why Change the Administrator Account Name?

Changing the account name is like changing the password. It prevents hackers from succeeding if their automatic password-breaking tools assume the default name hasn't been changed.

As the name explains, the built-in Administrator account has administrative rights. You can use it to install programs and make extensive system changes. It's useful for those reasons, which is why some people choose to use it.

However, it's disabled by default, so using it requires you to enable the admin account manually. It's not entirely necessary, though, because you can convert any user account to one with admin rights; it's pretty easy to create and delete accounts in Windows 10.

Nevertheless, if you've chosen to keep the built-in Administrator account enabled, it's important to assign it a strong password and change its name. "Administrator" is chosen by default, so anyone with access to your computer knows right away that unless you've changed the account name, they can guess passwords using that username.