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How to Change Author Name in WordPress

Change Author Name in WordPress

Discovered that a WordPress post is showing the wrong author’s name? By this, we mean that the wrong name of the right author was displayed in the front end, or that a post was assigned to the wrong author. Also, there’s often a need to assign posts to a new author after a previous one leaves the website or joins another, which is common with multi-site networks. We know what you’re thinking, “but what if there are tens or hundreds of posts I need to change?” Don’t fret, it is certainly possible to alter the name of the author for posts in bulk. With your worries dispelled, how to change author name in WordPress.

1. Change the author name for a WordPress post

Here are 3 methods to switch the name of the author of a WordPress post:

1. Quick Edit

You can use Quit Edit to edit the name of its author:

  1. Access the WordPress Admin Section.
  2. In the main WordPress sidebar on the left, click on Posts > All Posts.
  3. Tip. If you don’t see the author’s names, click on Screen Options in the top right corner, then put a checkmark in front of Author.
  4. Click on Quick Edit underneath the post.
  5. From the drop-down list next to Author, select the new author, then click on Update.

2. Block Editor

Here’s how changing the author’s name works in WordPress Block Editor:

  1. Open the post in question by clicking on Edit or Edit (Block Editor) below its name.
  2. In the top right corner, click on the three-dot menu.
  3. Click on the Documents tab, and navigate to the Status & Visibility section.
  4. Click on the down arrow next to Author to open a drop-down list.
  5. Select the correct author and click on the Update button.

3. Classic Editor

Follow these steps to alter the name of a post author via Classic Editor:

  1. Open the post by clicking on Edit or Edit (Classic Editor) underneath its name.
  2. In the top right corner of the post content, click on Screen Options.
  3. When it expands upward, put a checkmark in front of the Author.
  4. Now scroll all the way down, below the content.
  5. An Author box menu has appeared, so select an author from the drop-down list.
  6. Click on Update.

2. Bulk change author name for WordPress posts

Do this to change the author for multiple posts in WordPress at once:

  1. Follow steps 1 through 3 in our Quick Edit guide above.
  2. Mark the posts whose author you want to alter by putting a checkmark in front.
  3. Once ready, click on Bulk Actions in the top left corner.
  4. Select Edit from the drop-down list.
  5. Click on Apply.
  6. In the bar that opens, navigate to the Author field on the right-hand side, underneath Tags.
  7. Select a new author from the drop-down list and click on Update.

3. Changing author display name in WordPress

The steps above were intended for those who want to switch between two user accounts. But what if the account is correct, but the display name isn’t? That’s what this, and the 2 methods below, will take care of. Make sure you’re logged in on an account with Administrator permissions. Then, follow these instructions to change the display name of an author in WordPress:

  1. In the left sidebar menu in the WordPress Dashboard, click on Users > All users,
  2. Hover over the name of the intended author and click on Edit below it.
  3. Optional. If you need to add a new name, delete what’s under Nickname, enter a new one, and click on Update.
  4. Scroll down to the Display name publicly as, and select a display name from the list.
  5. Click on Update.

What about the WordPress username?

After you enter it during registration, the username, based on which the author slug below is generated, cannot be changed within WordPress by default. However, it can be easily be edited by installing a WordPress plugin. Alternatively, you can modify the WordPress database directly with, for example, phpMyAdmin in your cPanel. We’ll cover this separately, but you don’t need it. As you can see, the first or last name, full name, or nickname can be chosen as a display name.

4. Switch the author slug in WordPress

The problem with the method above is that even if you change the display name, the URL remains, “website-name.com/author/old-author-name“. Unfortunately, there are no built-in ways to change that. Luckily, there’s a lightweight plugin that allows you to change both the “author” part, e.g. the author slug, and the author name in the URL. For detailed steps, follow method 4 in our change a slug in WordPress guide.