KU Account - Changing Your Legal and Preferred Names

How you change your legal and/or preferred name depends entirely on your affiliation with the university. If you're unsure of your primary affiliation, you can check your details on the MyIdentity Preferred Name page at https://myidentity.ku.edu/services/preferred-name.

Preferred name is what KU IT uses to display your name in all electronic systems. If a users account does not have a preferred name set. The legal name will take its place. 

Change KU Legal Name

  • Faculty/Staff: Contact Human Resources at hrdept@ku.edu or at 785-864-4946
  • Students: Fill out a form to submit to the Registrars office. The form is located at https://deptsec.ku.edu/~admiss/forms/form/4.
  • Graduate Assistants: Update your name in both locations by filling out the form above for their student account in addition to contacting Human Resources. This includes:
    • Graduate Assistants
    • Graduate Teaching Assistants
    • Graduate Research Assistants

Change KU Preferred Name

This change will affect how your name is displayed in university systems like: Email, Canvas, and Class Rosters.

Faculty/Staff

Students

Graduate Assistants

Changes to your preferred name can take up to 24 hours to complete and be seen.

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