Your Steam name and your Apex name are separate — change the wrong one and nothing happens in-game

Apex Legends pulls your username from your Origin account (now called EA Account), not from Steam. If you play through Steam, you have three names: your Steam profile name, your EA Account name, and your in-game Apex name. Changing your Steam name will not change how you appear to other players in Apex. You need to change your EA Account name instead.

The process takes about five minutes and costs nothing. Your new name appears in Apex within a few minutes, though it may take longer to show up in ranked leaderboards or match history on third-party sites.

Key Takeaways

  • Your Apex username comes from your EA Account, not your Steam profile, so changing your Steam name does nothing in-game.
  • You change your Apex name by logging into your EA Account on the web, going to Account Settings, and editing your Display Name.
  • The first name change is free; after that, you pay 1,000 Apex Coins (roughly $10) for each change.
  • Your new name shows in Apex within minutes, but may take hours to appear on websites that track player stats.
  • If you cannot log into your EA Account, you may need to link it to your Steam account first or reset your password.

Log into your EA Account on the web

Go to www.ea.com and click the login button in the top right. Enter the email address and password for the EA Account linked to your Apex Legends game. If you do not remember which email you used, check your Steam library: right-click Apex Legends, select Properties, then Local Files, then Browse. Look for a file called "Origin.log" or check your Steam account settings under Connected Accounts to see which EA Account is linked.

If you have never set a password for your EA Account (because you logged in through Steam), click "Forgot your password?" and follow the email recovery steps. EA will send you a link to create a new password. Check your spam folder if you do not see the email within a few minutes.

Navigate to your account settings and find Display Name

Once you are logged in, click your account icon in the top right corner and select Account. On the left side menu, click Personal Info. You will see a field labeled Display Name — this is your Apex username. Your current name appears in this field.

Do not confuse Display Name with your EA Account email or your Origin ID number. Display Name is the only one that shows in Apex Legends.

Enter your new name and confirm the change

Click in the Display Name field and delete your current name. Type your new username. Apex usernames can be 3 to 16 characters long and can include letters, numbers, and underscores. Spaces and special characters like hyphens or periods are not allowed.

After you type your new name, click Save. EA will ask you to confirm the change and may ask you to re-enter your password for security. Once you confirm, your new name is saved. If the name is already taken by another player, EA will tell you when ready and ask you to choose a different one.

Wait for the name to appear in Apex

Launch Apex Legends and check your profile. Your new name should appear within a few minutes. If it still shows your old name after 10 minutes, restart the game completely — close it entirely and open it again. Restarting usually forces the game to refresh your account data.

Third-party stat tracking websites like Apex Legends Status or Tracker Network may take several hours to update your name. This is normal and does not mean anything went wrong. Your name is correct in the game itself; these sites just update on a delay.

Know the cost of changing your name again

Your first name change is free. If you want to change your name a second time, you will need to spend 1,000 Apex Coins. You can buy Apex Coins through the in-game store or through the EA website. After you have spent the coins once, each future name change also costs 1,000 coins. There is no limit to how many times you can change your name, as long as you have coins.

If you change your mind within a few minutes of saving your new name, contact EA Support through the website. They can sometimes revert a name change if you ask when ready, but this is not may provide and only works if you ask very quickly.

Troubleshooting if your name will not change

If you see an error message when you try to save, the most common reason is that the name is already taken. Try a slightly different version — add a number, use an underscore, or change one letter. If the error says something about your account, you may not have permission to change your name yet. New accounts sometimes have a waiting period of a few days before the first free name change is allowed.

If you cannot log into your EA Account at all, go to www.ea.com/account/forgot-password and enter your email. EA will send you a password reset link. If you do not receive an email, check that you are using the correct email address — the one associated with your Steam account. You can verify this by going to your Steam settings, clicking Accounts, and looking under Connected Accounts to see which EA Account is linked to your Steam profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will changing my Apex name affect my rank or my cosmetics?

No. Your rank, battle pass progress, skins, and all other account data stay exactly the same. Only your display name changes. Other players will see your new name, but your stats and cosmetics follow you automatically.

Can I change my name back to what it was before?

Yes, but only if you have coins. The first name change is free, but changing back to an old name costs 1,000 coins just like any other change. You cannot undo a name change for free after the initial one.

My Steam name and my Apex name are different — which one do I change?

Change your EA Account Display Name if you want to change your Apex name. Changing your Steam profile name does nothing in Apex. They are completely separate systems.

How long does it take for my new name to show up in ranked matches?

Your new name appears in-game within minutes. Ranked leaderboards and match history on EA's website may take a few hours to update. Third-party stat sites can take even longer — sometimes up to 24 hours.

What if the name I want is taken?

Try a variation: add numbers, use underscores, or change the spelling slightly. If a name is taken, no one else can use it, so you will need to pick something different. There is no waitlist or way to reserve a name.