The name of your page is the first thing people will see when viewing content about your business on Facebook. It is important that it is as close to the name of your business as possible so as not to mislead people and so that your page represents you in the best possible light. The number of people who mis-spell page names or don’t think through how they wish to be seen is staggering.

Even with the best intentions however, there may be a time when you will need to alter your Facebook page name. Perhaps your company name has changed or you wish to emphasise a different element of your business. Facebook does not encourage such name changes but they are possible:

If you have less than 100 people who like your page, you are able to change the name of your page very easily by going to Manage > Edit Page > Basic Information and changing the name of the page there. Click here for more information.

If you have more than 100 people who like your page you can put in a request for a name change to Facebook. There is no guarantee that this will be approved but Facebook will give you a definititive repsonse within three days. You can do this by clicking on the ‘Request change’ option next to your page name in Manage > Edit Page > Basic Information or by clicking here.

Facebook ask for a reason for a name change. If the name of your business has changed you will be asked for documentation to prove this. Alternatively you can just say that the name has been mis-spelled. Either way, you will only be given one opportunity to change the name of your page and it is entirely at Facebook’s discretion. Once you have submitted your request, you will receive this email:

Hi,

We may be able to assist you with this request. In order to update your Page name, please make sure to provide the following information:

If you selected, “My Page name has changed,” please make sure that you have attached documentation showing your new business name as well as its address. An example of this is a utility or phone bill.

If you selected, “My Page name is misspelled,” sit tight and we will get to your request as soon as possible.

Please note these changes may take up to 3 days to process. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Thanks,

The Facebook Team

You will then receive your final repsonse within 3 days. If Facebook determine that your name change will be misleading for people who like the page then you are unlikely to be successful so it is important to make a realistic request.

Finally, remember that if you have created a unique URL for your page this can never be changed. If it is important that your URL matches your new name you would be better placed starting afresh with a new page. Be certain of your intentions before deleting a page however because once a page is deleted, the URL attached to it will never be made available again.