Changing Display Name in Microsoft Teams Meetings

Question

Our organization is using Zoom for online group work, where display names can be modified to show only first names for privacy. However, in Microsoft Teams, the full name syncs with M365, which poses a concern for protecting worker identities during meetings.

Is it possible to change the display name in Teams without upgrading from the current license? If so, what steps are required, and does this feature become available with a higher license level?

We have just migrated from Google to M365 so ideally would like all users to be using Team Meetings.

Thanks

Answer 1

@Jackie Jarman

In Microsoft Teams, changing the display name is tied to the user's profile information in Microsoft 365 (M365). As such, any changes to the display name need to be made in the Microsoft 365 admin center, and this change will propagate across all Microsoft 365 services, including Teams.

Here's a general outline of how to change a user's display name in Microsoft 365:

1. Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center:
   • Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
   • Sign in with your admin account credentials.
2. Locate the User:
   • In the admin center, go to the Users section and select Active users.
   • Find and select the user whose display name you want to change.
3. Edit the User's Information:
   • In the user details pane, click Manage contact information or Edit.
   • Update the Display name field to only include the first name or other preferred format.
4. Save Changes:
   • Save the changes. This will update the user's display name across all Microsoft 365 services.

Regarding licensing, the ability to change the display name is standard across all Microsoft 365 business plans, so you do not need a higher license level for this feature. However, bear in mind that the display name change takes effect throughout the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem, and not just within Teams.

---

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

---