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Cornell University

Set Your Preferred Name or Other Name Preferences

Faculty and staff can use Workday to edit the way their name will appear in email messages and other campus systems.

This article applies to: Microsoft Outlook , Microsoft Teams

By default, the Office 365 email and calendar system uses your legal first, middle, and last name. If you would rather use a preferred name that is different from your legal name, please take these steps. 

For example, if Andrew Dickson White wanted his name to appear as "Andy White" on his messages (and he also wanted people to be able to find him in the Office 365 directory under "Andy White"), he would need to take these steps.

  1. Log in to Workday.
  2. Click Personal Information (looks like an ID card).
  3. Under Change, click Preferred Name.
  4. If your name in Office 365 is NOT displayed the way you want, uncheck the box next to Use Legal Name As Preferred Name.
  5. Update the fields (Prefix, First Name, Middle Name, Last Name, and Suffix) to match your preferences. First Name and Last Name are required.
  6. Click Submit at the bottom of the screen.

Your update will take effect within a few hours. However, the update may take longer to show up in some email clients, based on how often they refresh their directory information.

Affiliates: Please email the IT Service Desk with your preferred name.

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