SQL Server: RENAME Column or Table Name

You can rename table name, column name of an existing table, index name by using the system stored procedure sp_rename.

EXEC sp_rename 'old_name', 'new_name' [, 'object_type'];

Rename Table: To rename a table, 'old_name' must be an existing table name or schema.table.

Rename Column: To rename a column in a table, 'old_name' must be in the form of table.column or schema.table.column.

Rename Index: To rename an index, 'old_name' must be in the form table.index or schema.table.index.

Rename Constraints: To rename a constraint, 'old_name' must be in the form schema.constraint.

The following renames Address column of the Employee table to TempAddress.

EXEC sp_rename 'Employee.Address', 'TempAddress';

The following renames Employee table to Consultant table.

EXEC sp_rename 'Employee', 'Consultant';

You can specify the object type to indicate whether it is a column, index, database, etc.

EXEC sp_rename 'Employee.Address', 'TempAddress', 'COLUMN';

Note that the new column name should not prepend table name.

Learn more about sp_rename stored procedure.

Rename Table and Columns Using SSMS:

Open SSMS and expand the database folder.

Select and right-click on a table or a column you want to rename and click Rename. Enter a new name by over writing on existing name.

Go to the file menu and click Save.