An old name in Gmail can come from a saved contact, an automatically saved suggestion, a sender’s message, or an organizational profile. Editing one source does not necessarily rewrite every place that name appears.
Identify where the old name appears
Check whether you see it while typing a recipient, in a contact card, in an old received message, or in the sender information of a new message. Also confirm the actual email address; two people or two saved cards can share a display name.
Open Google Contacts under the same account and inspect the relevant card. If the name was edited in a different account or only in the phone’s local contacts, Gmail may still be using another source.
Review saved and managed information
Correct the personal contact field you control and save. Check Other contacts for an older interaction-derived entry. Google’s suggestion controls may also let you hide an obsolete suggestion without deleting the contact permanently.
Some details originate from the person’s Google profile, their organization, or a business listing. Google’s contact-editing guidance says those automatically supplied details cannot always be changed as personal fields. Ask the authoritative owner or directory administrator to correct them.
Test a fresh composition
Open a new Gmail draft and type the person’s name or exact address. Inspect the resulting recipient details. Refresh Gmail after saving any unsent work if the suggestion appears stale.
An old message can retain the display name its sender supplied at the time; that alone does not prove the contact edit failed. Do not delete correspondence to force a new name or repeatedly merge unrelated cards. If the wrong name persists in fresh suggestions, record the account, full address, location of the display, and contact source. Redact private contact details before sharing a screenshot publicly.
Browse Gmail & Google Account help
References
Reviewed against the linked product guidance, standards, and identified vendor or public-authority guidance on October 29, 2026. Available options and screen labels can vary by account, device, region, and organization policy.