How to Create, Edit or Delete a Gmail Alias

How to Create, Edit or Delete a Gmail Alias

- Updated: September 5, 2023 - 10 minutes read

Want to use more than one email address within the same Gmail account? You can do this (and more) thanks to the Gmail aliases. Here’s everything you need to know about this feature and how to use it.

Over the years, Gmail has implemented several game-changing features. Such as the Gmail folders or the “Schedule send” button. But our favorite tool – by far – is something called the “Gmail alias”.

What is an email alias?

An email alias is an alternate email address that you can add to your main Gmail account. The messages sent to your alias will then automatically land in your primary email account’s inbox.

So for example, if my main address is [email protected] and I create a Gmail alias such as [email protected], any message, attachment or image sent to [email protected] will land in my primary inbox.

What is the purpose of Gmail aliases?

You can use the Gmail alias feature to create multiple sub email addresses and associate them with your primary email address. This can be helpful in various situations such as ⤵️

  • If you have multiple Gmail accounts and you’re struggling to keep up with your emails, you can add aliases to your primary email. That way, all your emails will be delivered to the same inbox and you won’t have to switch accounts.
  • If you want to receive messages in your main inbox without revealing your primary email address, you can create a Gmail alias and use it to sign up for your competitors’ email campaigns.
  • If you’re a small business owner and you don’t have a customer service department, you can set up an alternate email address such as [email protected] to sort your messages more easily.

How to create a Gmail alias

There are 3 ways to create an email alias in Gmail. You can set up a new alias from Google Workspace, add a secondary email address to your Gmail account or use the + sign to create variations of your primary Gmail address. Let’s walk you through each method.

How to create a Gmail alias with the + sign

The easiest way to add a Gmail alias is to use the “+” sign. This is a small Gmail trick that many people don’t know about.

Here’s how you can use it to create unlimited versions of your Gmail address. Simply add a plus sign (+) and a keyword before the @gmail part.

So for example, if your email address is [email protected], you could create email aliases such as ⤵️

And here’s the cool part. To Gmail, all these email addresses are the same. So any message sent to a “+” alias will land in your primary inbox.

This is a great way to keep your inbox well-organized and clutter-free. Especially if you know how to use the Gmail filters.

For example, you can use the [email protected] alias every time you subscribe to a newsletter.

Then you can create a filter that automatically sends all the emails sent to [email protected] to a folder called “Newsletters”.

But this method has its limits. You can’t send emails from a Gmail address with a “+” sign and they look a bit phony.

How to set up an email alias in Google Workspace

Another great way to create an alternate email address is to set up a new Gmail alias directly from Google Workspace.

Step 1: Go to your Google Admin console.

Step 2: Navigate to “Menu” > “Directory” > “Users”.

Step 3: Click on a user’s name to open their user settings page.

Step 4: Under the user’s name, click on “Add Alternate Emails”.

Step 5: Click on “Alternate email” and enter the name of your alias (i.e. the part of the email address before the “@”).

If you have multiple domain names, don’t forget to click on “Domain” and select the right domain name.

Step 6: To confirm your changes, click on “Save”.

And that’s it. You’ve successfully created a Google Workspace email alias. You can now send messages from this sub email address.

How to add an alternate email address to Gmail

Last but not least, you can also set up a Gmail alias by adding a secondary email address to your main account. Here’s how it works ⤵️


Step 1: Sign in to your primary Gmail account.

Step 2: Click on “Settings”. Then select “See all settings”.

Step 3: Navigate to the “Accounts and Import” tab.

Step 4: In the “Send email as” section, click on “Add another email address”.

Gmail alias settings

Step 5: A new window will open. Enter the name of your secondary Gmail account (e.g. Edmond Alley) and the email address of the alias account (e.g. [email protected]).

Gmail alias window

Step 6: Make sure that the checkbox “Treat as an alias” is checked. Then click “Next” to start the verification process.

Almost there. For security reasons, Google will now send a message with a verification link to your alternate email address. Make sure to open the email and click on the link to finalize the process.

Need more help to add a secondary Gmail account? We’ve written a step-by-step guide to walk you through this process. Make sure to go check it out :)

How to edit a Gmail alias

If you want to change a Gmail alias, you can do so from the Google Admin console. Here’s how it works.

Step 1: Open your Google Admin console.

Step 2: Navigate to the “Users” section.

Step 3: Click on the username you want to edit the alias for.

Step 4: Go to “Alternate email addresses”.

Step 5: Click on the “Alternate email” field and modify the alias.

Step 6: Hit “Save”.

How to delete a Gmail alias

Want to remove a Gmail alias that you’re no longer using? Here’s how to do it from the Google Admin console.

Step 1: Sign in to your Google Admin console.

Step 2: From the homepage, go to “Users”.

Step 3: In the list, find the user you’re looking for and click on their name to open their account page.

Step 4: Click on “User information”. Then select “Alternate email addresses”.

Step 5: Press the “X” button right next to the alias you want to delete.

Step 6: Lastly, click on “Save”.

FAQ

How do I send emails from my Gmail alias?

Want to send an email from one of the aliases you’ve added to your Gmail account? Here’s how to do it ⤵️

Step 1: Compose a new message.

Step 2: In the “From” field, click on the down arrow and select the right Gmail alias.

How to send an email from a Gmail alias

Step 3: Once your email is ready, click on “Send”.

Alternatively, you can go to the Gmail settings and select your alias as the default sending address.

How do I change my alias name in Gmail?

Gmail lets you edit the name associated with your email alias in just a few clicks. Here’s how it works.

Step 1: Open the Gmail settings.

Step 2: Go to “Accounts and Import”.

Step 3: In the “Send email as” section, click on “edit info” next to the alias name you want to change

How to change the name associated with your alias in Gmail

Step 4: Enter your new alias name.

Step 5: Click on “Save Changes”.

Gmail will now associate this name with the email alias you selected. You can change your alias name as often as you like.

How many aliases can I add to my Gmail account?

Google lets you add up to 30 aliases per account, at no extra cost. If you need more Gmail aliases, you’ll need to create another Google Account.

But if you plan on using more than 10 Google aliases, it might be time to start using an email marketing solution such as Mailmeteor.

How many emails can I send from an alias in Gmail?

No matter how many email aliases you add to your Gmail account, Google will apply the same daily sending limits.

As a reminder, Gmail lets you send up to 2,000 emails per day from a Google Workspace account and 500 emails per day from a free Gmail account.

However, your sending capacity may vary depending on your usage. For example, if Gmail detects abuse, it might lower your quota.

Also, keep in mind that the send limits apply to your account as a whole. If you send 2,000 emails from one of your aliases, you won’t have any quota left.

This means that you won’t be able to send emails for the next 24 hours. Even with your primary Gmail account.

Can I have a dedicated signature for one of my aliases?

Sure, you can create multiple signatures in Gmail and configure which one should be used when you send a new message from one of your aliases.

Here’s how to assign a signature to a specific Gmail alias ⤵️

Step 1: Sign in to Gmail using your primary account.

Step 2: Go to the “Settings” page and open the “General” section.

Step 3: In the “Signature” subsection, click on “Create new” to create your Gmail signature.

Step 4: Once your signature is ready, just under the editor, access the “Signature defaults” subsection.

How to edit the email signature associated with your Gmail alias

Step 5: From there, select your Gmail alias and then select its associated signature.

Want to stand out in your recipients’ inbox? You can use our free email signature generator to create a stunning Gmail signature in minutes.

How to send a mail merge from an alias?

A mail merge is the process of sending a large volume of emails in just one click. To send mass personalized emails from an email alias, you can use a mail merge app such as Mailmeteor.

Here’s how it works ⤵️

Step 1: Open Mailmeteor.

Step 2: Go to “Accounts & Billing”.

Step 3: In the “Advanced” tab, click on “Configure aliases”.

Configure your email aliases in Mailmeteor

Step 4: Click on “Create new alias”.

Step 5: Enter your alias name and your sub email address. Then select “I have configured that alias in Gmail”.

Add a new email alias in Mailmeteor

Step 5: Click on “Create”.

And voilà. The next time you create a campaign in Mailmeteor, you’ll be able to send a bulk email with your new email alias.

Want to know more about Mailmeteor? Here’s a quick video tour of our trusted email marketing solution ⤵️

This guide was written by Corentin Brossault co-founder & CTO at Mailmeteor. Mailmeteor is a privacy-focused emailing platform. Trusted by millions of professionals, it helps businesses all around the world to send email marketing campaigns. Give us a try and let us know what you think!

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