Rename a Google Workspace user or add an email alias

Watch the steps

1. 1Directory
2. 2Click the staff member's name
3. 3Add Alternate Emails
4. 4Type the alias, for example sales, and pick the domain
5. 5Save

Add an email alias (0:22)

An email alias is an extra address, like sales@yourcompany.com, that delivers to an existing user’s inbox, and you can add up to 30 per user at no extra cost.

Add an alias

You need a Google Workspace admin account. The alias delivers to the user’s existing inbox.

1. Sign in to the Admin console.

2. Go to Menu → Directory → Users and click the user’s name.

   

3. Click Add Alternate Emails.

   

4. Click Alternate email, type the part before the @ and, if you have more than one domain, pick the domain.

5. Click Save. It can take up to 24 hours to work.

   

Rename a user or change their address

Use this when a staff member’s name or address changes. You need a Google Workspace admin account.

1. In Directory → Users, point to the user and click Rename user at the right.

   

2. Under Primary email, enter the new address.

3. Click Update user.

   

The old address becomes an alias, so no mail is lost. Emails and files stay, but the user now signs in with the new address. They should also update their email signature to show the new address. A user who already has 30 aliases cannot be renamed until you remove one.

Send from the alias in Gmail

The user does this in their own Gmail, on a computer, after the alias is working.

1. In Gmail, click Settings → See all settings.

2. Open the Accounts tab (or Accounts and import).

   

3. Under Send mail as, click Add another email address, enter the alias and follow the prompts.

   

4. To send from it by default, click make default next to the alias. This link only shows once you have more than one address under Send mail as.

Alias, group or user?

Pick the option that matches how the address will be used.

• Alias: one person handles the address. Free.
• Group: several people need the same mail, like sales@ for a team. See shared group email. No extra licence needed.
• User: the address needs its own sign-in, password or Drive. Needs a licence, see Add a user.

Still stuck

WhatsApp our support team at +60 16-916 3324.

Common issues

Can staff sign in with an alias like sales@?

No. An alias is not a Google Account, so it cannot sign in or open Drive. The user signs in with their primary address and receives the alias mail in the same inbox.

I renamed a user and now their old address does not sign in. Why?

After a rename the user must sign in with the new address. Mail to the old address still arrives, because it becomes an alias.

Does an alias need its own licence?

No. Each user can have up to 30 aliases at no extra cost. Only a new user account needs a licence from Office Niaga.

Related articles

• Create a shared inbox like info@ in Google Workspace
• What to do with a Google Workspace account when staff leave
• Set up your Gmail signature & out-of-office reply