Wikipedia:Changing username/Simple

For stewards, global renamers, and clerks
	Reminders for clerks Only stewards and global renamers have the authority to approve or decline requests. Please do not remove or decline requests yourself.; Compliant requests do not need a response. To avoid cluttering the page, please do not comment on them.; For a list of response templates, see Template:CHU/doc.;
	Reminders for global renamers and stewards Be sure to review the renaming guidelines and the global rename policy before renaming.; Please remember to check Special:CentralAuth to see if an account is subject to blocks on another project before renaming.; Please install User:Enterprisey/rename-reason-fixer to auto-populate the rename reason with a link to the request. This ensures a paper trail for the request is available.; If you have any questions, consult the global renamers FAQ, or ask on the global renamers mailing list.;

Archived requests
	Completed and rejected requests will automatically be archived into one of the pages below. ;

Simple username changes

Shortcuts

This page hosts simple requests for a username change across the Wikimedia network. Requests are processed by stewards and global renamers.

Instructions

Read Wikipedia:Changing username carefully. You must be aware of and understand all the implications of changing your username. Specifically:
- Your name will be changed to the new one in the page history of every page you've edited, and in all log entries.
- Your user pages, account preferences, and edits will be moved to the new name. Please do not create a new account or attempt to move them yourself.
- Links left by your previous signatures will still point to the old userpage; however, a redirect will be created pointing to your new userpage.
- Understand that using your real name as your username may put you at risk of harassment. If you choose to do so, you must acknowledge the risks in your request.
Read the username policy and ensure your new name does not violate it. Usernames must not:
- be inappropriate, profane, or offensive
- contain libelous, contentious, or non-public information
- be misleading by impersonating other users or implying that you have authority
- be the name of a company, organization, group; or imply that the account is shared with multiple people
- contain emoji, emoticons, or non-language symbols
- contain the # < > [ ] | { } / @ : = characters, among other restrictions
- start with ~2, as this is reserved for temporary accounts
Check that your new username is not already in use by searching for it on Special:CentralAuth. If the name is registered, even on another Wikimedia project, it is taken.
If the target name hasn't made any edits to any Wikimedia project, you may request usurpation at meta:Steward requests/Username changes.
Log in with your current username. Requests will not be approved if the requester is not logged in.
Place your request here.
- Add your desired username after NEW=.
- Add a reason for the change after REASON=. Requests without a valid reason will not be approved.
- Do not change anything else.
Select Publish changes.
Check back on this page periodically to answer any inquiries regarding your request. Consider watching the page so you can monitor updates. Requests may be closed if there are unresolved queries.

Requests that do not follow these instructions or that are grossly malformed are subject to removal.

Eschan145 → esoj48jkdjkln

Current name: Eschan145 (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · target logs · block log · list user · global contribs · central auth · Google) (notify user)
Requested name: Esoj48jkdjkln (talk · contribs · deleted contribs · logs · target logs · block log · list user · global contribs · central auth · Google)
Previous renames: current user, target user, Queue: open req, closed req
AntiSpoof: antispoof check
For global renamer: rename user
Datestamp: 18:12, 1 February 2026 (UTC)
Reason: I am requesting a change of my username in order to start fresh with a new account as I am unable to delete this one, and I no longer need this account. Thanks for your time. Eschan145 (talk) 18:12, 1 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Renamer note: Is this is a request for courtesy vanishing—meaning you intend never to edit the English Wikipedia again—or are you just wanting to abandon this account? Please note that returning after exercising courtesy vanishing may be met with automatic relinking of the new account with the old one. If you are just interested in retiring, an extended vacation, or are considering a clean start in the future, placing {{retired}} on your user and/or talk page(s) and abandoning the account is the better option. If you are looking to vanish, please submit your request to Special:GlobalVanishRequest. —⁠k6ka 🍁 (Talk · Contributions) 15:28, 3 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I want to abandon this account and start with a new account. I would like the new account to inherit the old username of this account, and to make that username avaliable by changing it. Eschan145 (talk) 01:57, 8 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I believe that username will be blocked from creation even if you rename this one. A solution I saw once is to ask for usurpation on m:Steward requests/Username changes after making the new account under a different username - then, this account will be moved somewhere else and that new account will be moved to the Eschan145 name. HurricaneZeta^C 02:05, 8 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@K6ka: Eschan145 said that he waited his username changed "in order to start fresh with a new account". I don't see how that could be interpreted as meaning that he intends never to edit the English Wikipedia again. JBW (talk) 11:25, 8 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Eschan145: I don't see any reason why you shouldn't have the rename. However, once your current account is renamed, the system won't let you create another account with the same name that the old one had before the rename. I suggest you create a new account, let's say "Eschan145 Temp", and let me know when you've done it. Tell me twice, once with each account, to prove that both accounts really are you; it's extremely unlikely that someone else would pretend to be you just to mess things up, but things like that have been known to happen. When you've done that I can rename Eschan145 to Esoj48jkdjkln, and Eschan145 Temp to Eschan145. Once that's happened, I will block Esoj48jkdjkln, since it will never need to edit again. (When your account is renamed, you will be automatically logged out of it, but you will be able to log back in, using the new username and the same password as before.) JBW (talk) 11:49, 8 February 2026 (UTC)[reply]