How to Edit a Recipient's Email Address or Name in Gmail

Change a recipient's info right from the Compose screen

By

Heinz Tschabitscher

Updated on April 20, 2021

Reviewed by

Jon Fisher

Email

What to Know

Double-click the recipient you want to edit and make the desired changes to the recipient's name or address.
To edit contacts, select the Google Apps menu, choose Contacts, and select the Pencil icon to the right of the contact.

This article explains how to edit a recipient's email address when sending messages and how to edit email contacts in Gmail. Instructions apply to the web version of Gmail in all web browsers.

How to Change the Email Recipient on a New Message

Given that most people have multiple email addresses (one for work and another for personal use, for example), Gmail likely has stored more than one for many of your contacts. As a result, Gmail might auto-populate the To, CC, or BCC field with the wrong entry as you begin to enter the name of your email recipient.

However, Gmail makes editing this info easy right from the New Message window:

Double-click the recipient whose address or name you want to edit.
Make the desired changes to the recipient's name or address. As you enter a few letters in the To, CC, or BCC field, Gmail presents matching choices in a drop-down menu. Either select the appropriate address from the menu or continue entering the address manually.
Finish composing your email and select Send.

If you suspect you clicked Send with the wrong address entered, you may be able to unsend in Gmail if you act quickly.

Edit Contact Information

If you are attempting to email someone from your contact list, but that person's name or email address is not appearing as it should, it might be entered incorrectly in your Gmail contacts. Modifying the contact information could resolve the issue.

Select the Google Apps menu in the upper-right corner and choose Contacts.

You can also go directly to contacts.google.com. As long as you are logged in to Google, your contacts appear automatically. Otherwise, you are prompted to log in to your Google account.
Hover over the contact you want to edit and select the Pencil icon on the right end. The card for that contact opens.
Change the name, email address, or other information.

After you select Show More, you can enter a name in the File As field that helps you find the recipient easily. The name entered in the First Name and Last Name fields displays in the To, Cc, or Bcc fields when you send the recipient an email message.
Select Save to apply the changes. The recipient's name and email address should appear correctly in messages going forward.

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