If you’ve been playing League of Legends for any amount of time, there’s a good chance you’ve outgrown your original summoner name. I picked mine back in high school, when I thought “xXShadowSlayerXx” was the coolest thing ever, but now that I play with coworkers and casual friends in 2026, I cringe every time it pops up in loading screens. If that sounds familiar, you’ve probably wondered how do you change your league of legends name without running into unnecessary errors or extra costs. I recently walked through the process myself, and I’ve rounded up all the 2026 rules, steps, and pitfalls to avoid so you can switch to your perfect new ID smoothly.
Step-by-Step: How Do You Change Your League of Legends Name in 2026
The process is a lot simpler than it used to be, now that Riot has merged all LoL account management into its central Riot Account portal. You don’t have to fumble through in-game menus that glitch half the time anymore, though you can still complete the change in the client if you prefer. First, log into your official Riot Account page first using the same credentials you use to launch LoL. Make sure you don’t log into a smurf account by accident, because name change purchases are non-transferable.
Once you’re logged in, navigate to the “Summoner Name Change” tab under the LoL game settings section. You’ll see a text box where you can type in your desired new name to check availability. If it’s available, you’ll be prompted to pay with either RP or Blue Essence, and confirm the change. If you’re doing this through the LoL client, the steps are almost identical: head to the store, click the “Account” tab, and select “Summoner Name Change” from the list of options.
If you play both LoL PC and Wild Rift, your name will update across both titles automatically as of 2026, so you don’t have to pay for two separate changes. That’s a huge upgrade from the old system, where you had to buy separate name changes for each game. Just double-check that you’re logged into the correct regional account before you confirm, because cross-region name changes aren’t possible unless you pay for a full account transfer.
Key Rules and Restrictions for 2026 LoL Name Changes
Riot updates its naming policy every year to cut down on offensive or confusing IDs, and 2026 is no exception. Before you get your heart set on a specific name, make sure it meets all the current requirements, or you’ll waste your BE or RP on a change that gets rejected. The core rules for 2026 are:
I learned this the hard way earlier this year when I tried to change my smurf name to “FakerFan2026” and got rejected immediately. Riot’s 2026 policy blocks any name that includes the handle of a current LEC, LCS, or LCK pro player, even if you add extra numbers or letters to the end. It’s not worth trying to work around the rule, either, because you’ll just lose your payment and have to pick a different name anyway.
That said, if your desired name is taken by an account that’s been inactive for more than 12 months, you might be able to grab it during Riot’s regular name release cycles. Riot releases unused inactive account names every 6 months in 2026, so if you can wait a few months, you might get lucky and snap up the name you want without having to compromise.
Costs and Free Name Change Options for 2026
Name changes aren’t free in most cases, but the costs haven’t gone up too much from previous years. As of 2026, you’ll pay either 1300 RP (roughly $10 USD) or 14,500 Blue Essence to change your summoner name. A lot of players prefer to use Blue Essence if they have extra lying around, since you can earn it just by playing games, opening champion capsules, and completing event missions. If you don’t have enough BE, you can also pick up extra during event passes, which usually hand out tens of thousands of BE over the course of a 4-week event.
You only qualify for a free name change if Riot has flagged your existing name as inappropriate and forced you to change it. If you get a notification that your name violates community guidelines, you’ll get a 7-day window to pick a new name for free before Riot assigns you a random generic ID. There’s no way to request a free name change for any other reason, even if you’ve had your account for 10 years and hate your ID.
There’s one other exception: if you transfer your account to a different region, and your existing name is already taken in the new region, you’ll get a free name change as part of the transfer process. That’s a nice bonus if you’re moving countries or just want to play on a different server with friends, but it’s not worth paying for a transfer just to get a free name change, since transfers cost $20 USD, which is twice as much as a regular name change.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Changing Your LoL Name in 2026
I’ve helped a dozen friends change their summoner names over the past year, and I’ve seen all the common mistakes that cost people extra time and money. The biggest one is buying RP for a name change before you check if the name is available. I had a friend who spent $10 on RP earlier this year, only to find out the name he wanted was taken by an active account, and he ended up wasting the RP on a skin he didn’t even want. Always check name availability first before purchasing RP or BE for the change – you can check for free right on the Riot Account page, no payment required.
Another common mistake is trying to use leetspeak or special characters to sneak in offensive or copyrighted terms. A lot of players think replacing an “o” with a 0 or an “a” with a 4 will get past Riot’s moderation, but that’s not true anymore. Don’t use leetspeak to hide offensive terms, as Riot’s 2026 automated moderation system catches 98% of these attempts, and you’ll lose your payment and be forced to pick a new name if your ID gets flagged later. It’s just not worth the risk.
One thing a lot of people don’t think about is that your old name becomes available to other players 90 days after you change it. If you’re attached to your old name and don’t want someone else to take it, you can make a free smurf account and register the old name there for safekeeping. Just make sure you log into that smurf at least once every 12 months, or it’ll be marked inactive and the name will be released anyway.
So, if you’re planning to stream or share your new ID on social media, wait 24 hours after changing it before you post it. Riot’s system sometimes takes a few hours to update across all regions, so you might run into errors if you try to add friends or join tournaments right after making the change.
At the end of the day, changing your summoner name should be a fun, low-stress process, whether you’re ditching a cringey teenage ID, matching names with your friend group, or rebranding your stream account for 2026. Now that you know how do you change your league of legends name and all the 2026 rules to follow, you can skip the headaches and get your perfect new ID set up in just a few minutes. If you run into any errors during the process, you can always reach out to Riot’s support team for help, but as long as you follow the steps we outlined, you shouldn’t have any issues.