Endermen not included with name change. Terms and conditions apply. See store for details.
That's right, name changes will be here very soon! No, I don't mean "Soon™", I mean soon! For realsies soon! Check out this Q&A with Mojang, explaining how it will all work, why you should probably buy that unpaid account with the name just sitting there, and a whole lot more!
Quote from Mojang
When? When! When?!
We plan to make name changing available on February 4th.
What do I need to do this? Will it cost money?
The only thing you need is a Mojang account. If you currently sign in to Minecraft with an email address, you’re all good! Otherwise, you can migrate your old Minecraft account here. There are no other requirements, and it does not cost any money.
It sounds good! Where can I do it?
Just head on over to your Mojang account page! Once the feature is made available you’ll see a “change” link next to your Minecraft name.
Can I steal somebody’s name? Can I call myself “Dinnerbone” too?
No. There is already somebody called Dinnerbone and names are still unique. You can’t have the same name as another player; they will have to change their name for you to be able to take it. 37 days after they change their name, the old one will become available.
What about all those unpaid usernames from so many years ago?
We will be freeing up all those old unpaid usernames when the new name changing feature is released. If you have an old unpaid name that you’d like to keep, there’s still time to buy it! Read this help article to learn how.
Can I change the capitalization of my name?
Yes, you can!
Does this mean that I can pick a new name every day?
No. After changing your name you have to wait 30 days before you can do it again.
What if I change my name and then realise that I don’t like it? Can I change back to my old name?
Yes, you can. You still have to wait the 30 days though.
If I ban a player “Foo” and he changes name to “Bar”, will he stay banned?
Yes. Same for whitelisted players and oped players. They also keep their inventory, pets, statistics and everything they own on a server.
How will this work with mods? What about my custom stuff on this one modded server?
Ask your mod maker/server owner. Mods should be able to support this system easily and most already do, but we aren’t responsible for mods or servers!
Can I have a hug?
*hugs*
So there you have it! A grace period after the name is changed, bans will be based on player (not name) and be unaffected, and - despite many, many, MANY rumors to the contrary - zero cost to change names.
$0. Not a single cent. Free.
Last time this came up, I asked what you would change your name to. Since we know that already; what name would you buy an account for, if you knew it was available? Doesn't have to be serious or deep, just any reason at all!