How can I set the sender name shown on emails?

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Level 2

284 points

How can I set the sender name shown on emails?

I created a new aol IMAP email account. I set the address to be NewName@verizon.net. In Internet Accounts I checked only Mail, then in Details set Description and Name to be NewName. I sent myself a test email from the new account. When I created the email, the From: address field shows My User Name - NewName@verizon.net. When I send the email to myself at a different email address, the name shown on the email is My User Name and not NewName. In the past, email from this account has been labeled with the NewName specified for the email, or the NewName set in Description or Name.

How can I get the sender name shown on emails to be as specified in Details when the account is set up?

Mac Pro, 12.6

Posted on Feb 22, 2023 12:25 PM

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Answer 1

TammyW_03

Community Specialist

Feb 23, 2023 12:28 PM in response to Tom Ritch

Hey Tom Ritch,

If we understand correctly, after creating a new AOL email account and adding it to your Mac, the name that appears when sending an email isn't what you expect. Have you checked the account settings to see if there's an option to change the display or sender name? Here are guides to help with checking the account settings:

View email account information in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

Change preferences in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

If not, we recommend reaching out to AOL Support to see if there's an option to do this on their side. Here's a link to their support, just in case: AOL Get Support

Let us know how it goes.

Take care!

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,702 points

Feb 23, 2023 1:31 PM in response to Tom Ritch

If you look at the Raw Source of the received message, does it have the old or new name in the From header?

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Answer 3

Tom Ritch Author

Level 2

284 points

Feb 24, 2023 10:38 AM in response to Barney-15E

Looking at the Raw Source I see

From: My User Name <NewName@verizon.net>

This reply may better illustrate my issue. The email address is as expected for the account. The issue is that the name associated with the User Space is prepended to the email address, even though for this email address in Account Info the Account Description and Full Name are both set to NewName.

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Answer 4

Tom Ritch Author

Level 2

284 points

Feb 24, 2023 10:45 AM in response to TammyW_03

TammyW_03 wrote:

... Have you checked the account settings to see if there's an option to change the display or sender name?

Of course. The issue is that these options appear to not work as intended.

The email address is as expected for the account. The issue is that the name associated with the User Space is prepended to the email address, even though for this email address in Account Info the Account Description and Full Name are both set to NewName. In the past I believe this worked as intended, associating NewName with emails from this address. Now it does not. I believe this is a flaw in macOS Mail.

I have not yet checked with aol support. Thank you for the link.

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Answer 5

Tom Ritch Author

Level 2

284 points

Mar 3, 2023 9:04 AM in response to Tom Ritch

AOL provides live person support only for paying subscribers, so no help there.

The re-activated email account was on the aol server as a result of various corporate reorganizations. On re-activating I noticed an increase in spam. No surprise there. The good news is your suggestion to seek aol support led me to aol preferences pages, where I was able to turn off lots of aol tracking. At least that is what it said. We'll see how well it works.

So even if there is no fix for the Apple Mail problem, thank you for sending me to that page. It may have reduced potential aol problems.

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How can I set the sender name shown on emails?

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