Minecraft username rules: length, characters, case
A Minecraft username is 3 to 16 characters long and uses only English letters, digits and underscores. The rules are short, but two details trip people up: how case works and why some old names seem to break the rules.
The rules in short
3–16
characters in a name
a–z, 0–9, _
English letters, digits and the underscore
Unique
one name, one account, whatever the case
These rules describe the name of a Minecraft account, the one Mojang profiles show (Minecraft Wiki). Changing it is free and possible once every 30 days: see how to change your Minecraft username.
Allowed characters
- English letters a to z, in upper or lower case.
- Digits 0 to 9, in any position, including the first.
- Underscores, as many as you like and anywhere: at the start, at the end, several in a row.
Not allowed: spaces, dots, hyphens, accented letters, letters of other alphabets and any other symbols.
- Novaletters only
- Kiro_7letters, an underscore and a digit
- __Zed__underscores at both ends
- Zytoo short, 2 characters
- Nova Stara space
- Nova-7a hyphen
Besides the format, a name can be refused as inappropriate, whatever characters it uses.
Upper and lower case
Case is kept for display and ignored for uniqueness:
- You choose how it looks.
Notch,notchandNOTCHare shown exactly as typed. - But they are one name. If
Notchis taken, nobody can registernotch.
This also means you can change only the case of your own name, for example from kiro to Kiro. It is still a name change, so it starts a new 30-day wait.
Old names shorter than 3 characters
You may meet players with one-letter or two-letter names. These accounts were bought in the early years of the game, before the 3-character minimum. The names are real, but nobody can register one like them now.
There is a catch for their owners too: by player reports, a name shorter than 3 characters that is changed cannot be taken again by anyone (Minecraft Wiki).
More on short and old names in OG Minecraft usernames.
Bedrock and Xbox gamertags
Everything above is about the Minecraft account name set on minecraft.net. Minecraft Bedrock on consoles, phones and Windows shows your Xbox gamertag instead. A gamertag is a separate system with its own rules, its own length limit and its own way to change it, and this guide does not cover it.
So if you play on a console and want a different name there, look at your Xbox profile, not at minecraft.net.
Check your name
Type a name on our Minecraft page. The form shows right away whether it fits the rules, and then asks Mojang whether a profile with this name exists. It is free and needs no account.
If there is no profile, we show the name as probably free: usually nobody uses it, but a name can also be on hold after its owner changed it.
Clmify checks Minecraft names in bulk on our servers and watches the taken ones for you. See the Minecraft sniper and pricing.