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I want to change a username. In the prompt, which says abhishek@hello$, I want to replace abhishek with alok (i.e. alok@hello$). Is it possible to do that without reinstalling Ubuntu?

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See also this question. – jw013 Nov 23 '12 at 15:43

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You can change your username and move all files in your current home directory to your new home directory using

usermod -l alok -md /home/alok abhishek

Got the answer from another reply: http://unix.stackexchange.com/a/40611/26851

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Hi fotomonster, thanks for the reply. Is there any way to change the current home directory name? – abhishek kumar gupta Nov 23 '12 at 13:16
The -md /home/alok part should have moved your old homedirectory already. – fotomonster Nov 23 '12 at 13:20
Just saw that there was a typo in the usermod line, so you home directory possibly hasn't been moved. Issuing usermod -md /home/alok alok should move the files in your home directory. – fotomonster Nov 23 '12 at 13:24
Hi fotomonster, thanks for your suggestion. I have tried but terminal displays the following message - usermod: user 'alok' does not exist. Is there a need to create first "alok" home directory or "alok" user account? if yes, can you suggest how to create it. – abhishek kumar gupta Nov 23 '12 at 14:53
You need to modify the existing username first #usermod -l login-name old-name – midnightsteel Nov 23 '12 at 15:58

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