Outlook 2016 currently does not allow you to change Outlook.com or Exchange account name in File, Account Settings. This is the name you see in the Account selector next to the From field.

However, you can either edit the registry or use a macro to change the name.

To change the name by editing the registry, follow these steps:

1. Open the registry editor. (Press Windows key + R to open the Run command then type regedit into it and press Enter.)
2. Browse to the Outlook profile key. In Outlook 2016, it's at

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Profiles\

3. Find your profile (most people only have one profile) then find the account's keys: Look at the keys that have subkeys - the account will be in a key named 0000000nn. On my computer, the account is under these subkeys:

   profilename\9375CFF0413111d3B88A00104B2A6676\00000002

   

4. Right click on the Account name value and choose Modify.
5. Type in a new name then close the dialog.
   
6. Restart Outlook for the change to take effect.

If you don't want to edit the registry and are more comfortable using a macro, you can install Redemption Developer version and use the following macro. (Editing the registry is the fastest and easiest method.)

After installing redemption add a new module to the VBA editor then change the oldName and newName values in the macro. Use the account name as shown in File, Account Settings or in the From field of a new message for oldName variable and the desired name as the newName variable.

Public Sub changeAcctName()
Dim session
Dim oldName As String
Dim newName As String

oldName = "Diane"
newName = "OutlookMVP"

Set session = CreateObject("Redemption.RDOSession")
session.MAPIOBJECT = Application.session.MAPIOBJECT
Set Accounts = session.Accounts
For Each Account In Accounts
  If Account.Name = oldName Then
    Account.Name = newName
    Account.Save
  End If
Next
End Sub

POP3 or IMAP Accounts

If you want to change the account name for a POP3 or IMAP account, you can change it through the Account Settings dialog.

Use these steps to change the POP3 or IMAP account name that is shown on the File, Account Settings, E-mail tab and in the From field when you are composing a message.

1. Open File, Account Settings, E-mail tab.
2. Double click on the account or select it and click Change.
   
3. Click More Settings
4. Type a new name in the Accountfield on the General tab
   
5. Click Ok, then Next, and Finish.