# Nicknames
Source: https://docs.aden.space/docs/help/more/display-name

An optional nickname on your account that replaces your real name everywhere you are shown to other people, guarded so it cannot impersonate an act you are not on.
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## What it is [#what-it-is]

Most artists do not release under their passport name. A nickname is the name
you want other people to see: set it once in **Account** and it replaces your
real name on comments, chat, mentions, who's online, notifications, member
lists and your public profile. Your picture is already whatever you upload as
your avatar, so the two together mean you show up as your act.

Contracts, splits, signing and tax always use your real name. A nickname is how
people see you, not who you are on paper.

## Using it [#using-it]

1. Open **Account**. The **Nickname** field sits with your name.
2. Type one, or tap one of your acts to use its name.
3. Save. A line under the field shows what everyone else will see.

Clearing the field brings your real name back everywhere, immediately. Nothing
is stamped onto old comments: they follow whatever your nickname is now, so
renaming yourself renames every comment you have ever left.

When you **create a team** you are offered the act's name as your nickname on
the same step. It is off by default, and the field stays editable if you want
something slightly different from the act's name.

### You cannot take an act you are not part of [#you-cannot-take-an-act-you-are-not-part-of]

A nickname is rejected when it matches a team on Aden that you are not a member
of. Otherwise anyone could leave a comment on a shared link as someone else's
act. If you really are part of that act, ask them to add you to the team and
the name is yours.

Two people can share a nickname. Only acts are protected.