As a Windows user, you may sometimes require changing the user profile folder name in your system. This could be due to various reasons, such as personal preference, system requirements, or even for security purposes. Whatever your reason may be, changing the user profile folder name is a simple process, and in this article, we are going to guide you through it.

Step 1: Create a New User Account

Before you begin changing the user profile folder name, it is important to understand that this process requires an administrator account. If you are logged in as a user with standard privileges, you will not be able to perform the required changes. Therefore, the first step is to create a new administrator user account.

To create a new user account, open the Settings app in your Windows 11 system. Click on the Accounts option, and then select the Family & other users tab. Here, click on the Add account button located at the bottom of the page.
A new window will appear, and you will have to select the option that reads “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.” Follow the prompts, and create a new user account with administrator privileges.

Step 2: Log in to the New User Account

Once you have created the new user account, log out of your current account and log in to the new account with administrator privileges. This is necessary to ensure that you have the necessary permissions to perform the required actions.

Step 3: Rename the User Profile Folder

In this step, you will be required to rename the user profile folder. To do this, navigate to the location where the user profile folder is located. The default location for user profiles in Windows 11 is in the C:\Users directory.
Once you have located the user profile folder, right-click on it, and select the Rename option from the context menu. Enter the new name that you want to assign to the folder and press Enter.
You will receive a prompt asking for confirmation to rename the folder. Click on the Yes button to proceed.

Step 4: Edit the Registry Key

After renaming the user profile folder, you will also have to edit the registry key to reflect the new name. To edit the registry key, press the Win + R keys on your keyboard to launch the Run dialog box. Type “regedit” in the box and press Enter.

Navigate to the following location in the Registry Editor:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList
Here, locate the profile key that corresponds to the user profile that you just renamed. The profile key is usually a long string of characters that begin with “S-1-5-“. Right-click on the key and select the Rename option.

Change the name of the key to the new name that you assigned to the user profile folder. Close the Registry Editor and restart your system.

Once your system restarts, log in to your account and verify that the user profile folder name has been changed to the new name.