How to Rename a Label in Gmail? Edit Gmail Labels

If you are new to Gmail and want to make the best use of it, using Labels correctly is extremely important. Sometimes, while testing out the features, you may accidentally make some unnecessary edits that you don’t need or want to repurpose. Don’t worry, it won’t take much time for you to learn how to rename a label in Gmail.

We already know how to make Gmail labels from scratch. And just like making new labels, editing existing ones is also super easy. You just need to know where to find the editing options.

Moreover, label editing or renaming is an excellent alternative to making new labels in Gmail. Let us start with the web portal as it is the easiest and straightforward.

How to Rename a Label in Gmail Webmail?

• Step 1. Log in to your Gmail account
• Step 2. On the left-hand side, you should see the main menu pane containing all Labels
• Step 3. Hover over any Gmail label you want to edit.
• Step 4. Click on the 3 vertical dots that appear on the side.
• Step 5. Choose Edit.
• Step 6. Inside the Label name field, click on any character and press Ctrl + A to select the existing name.
• Step 7. Type in a new name and press Enter.

Also Read: Migrate Gmail to iCloud with Attachments

The label name has now been renamed. The method I told you just now is more than sufficient; however, there is another method to rename labels, which I think might be useful in certain niche cases.

Second Way to Edit Gmail Labels on PC or Mac

• Step 1. Open Gmail.
• Step 2. On the Main menu pane, toggle More options.
• Step 3. Select Manage labels
• Step 4. On the custom Label list, click on any existing label.
• Step 5. Type in a new name and press Enter.

Check Out: How to Migrate Yandex Mail to Gmail

Steps to Rename a Label in Gmail Mobile?

Currently, the Gmail app does not offer the label editing feature in either Android or iOS. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t edit labels on mobile. All you need to do is this:

• Step 1. Use your phone’s browser app to log in to the Gmail web version.
• Step 2. Toggle Desktop site (from browser settings).
• Step 3. Pinch out to zoom and make the buttons more visible on the smaller mobile screen.
• Step 4. Repeat the same steps I told you in the Webmail section of this post.

Best Practices While Renaming Labels in Gmail

• During renaming, you cannot reuse a name; it must be unique.
• You cannot rename a custom label to any of the reserved system labels.
• Label name length should not exceed 256 characters.
• Label name cannot contain leading or trailing whitespaces.
• Multiple spaces between characters will be reduced to a single space.
• You can’t use certain special characters like the ^ caret symbol.

Conclusion

All steps regarding how to rename a Label in Gmail have been laid out clearly in this blog post. Any user, regardless of technical expertise, can easily attempt the label edit task using this guide. Moreover, if you ever have to move Gmail emails to another IMAP client while keeping the Gmail data (including labels) intact, you can use the professional solution.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can I change the names of default labels like “Inbox”, “Spam”, etc?
No, all of them are reserved system labels, and you cannot change them. Not only that, but you can’t even reuse any of those names.

Q. If I delete a label and then recreate it, does it also reapply those labels to the emails that had it previously?
No, you must reapply them once again.

Q. Can I undo a label name change?
No, you must redo the edit to reverse the change.

Q. How many times can I rename a label in Gmail?
As many times as you want, Gmail puts no restriction on it.