Anyone who owns an Echo device or another Alexa-enabled smart speaker will know that “Alexa” is the name/wake-up word for Amazon’s virtual assistant. Except it doesn’t have to be. You can change Alexa’s name and choose to wake her up using several other names.

What You Need to Know Before Changing Alexa’s Name/Wake Word

Alexa’s name and wake word are essentially the same thing. As far as Amazon is concerned, the name of its virtual assistant is “Alexa”. However, users can change the name they use to wake Alexa up; thus, changing her wake word also changes her name in your household and on your devices.

You used to be able to change Alexa’s name/wake word using your voice. You would simply say, “Alexa, change your wake word to [Name],” and the device(s) within range would follow your command. But that no longer works, with Alexa directing you to use the app instead.

You cannot change Alexa’s name/wake word to anything you want. Instead, you can choose from “Alexa,” “Amazon,” “Computer,” “Echo,” and “Ziggy”. The last one being a reference to the computer featured in the TV show Quantum Leap.

you may only change Alexa’s name/wake word on one device at a time. So, if you own multipleEcho devicesor Alexa-enabled smart speakers, you’ll need to change each one in turn using the Alexa app.

How to Change Alexa’s Name/Wake Word in the Alexa App

To change Alexa’s name/wake word using the Alexa app:

And that’s all there is to it. Once your Echo device has successfully updated, it will only respond to your new name/wake word.

Why You Might Want to Change Alexa’s Name/Wake Word

So, why would you want to change Alexa’s name to something?

The most practical reason why you might want to change Alexa’s name to something else is if a member of your household is called “Alex,” “Alexa,” or something that sounds close to either of those. As without changing the name, you could wake Alexa (the virtual assistant) up every time you say your family member’s name.

Changing Alexa’s name/wake word also offers some variety. So, if you’re bored with shouting “Alexa” at your smart speaker, changing the name needed to rouse Amazon’s virtual assistant to something else is the easiest way to alleviate that.

Finally, it offers you the opportunity to either prank family members or impress guests. If they’re unaware that changing Alexa’s name is even an option, showing off that you have done so will leave them in awe of your technical skills for at least a few minutes; especially if you change the name to “Ziggy” and they’re fans of Quantum Leap.

Can You Change Alexa’s Name or Wake Word Back to “Alexa”?

There’s zero risk from changing Alexa’s name to something else, as changing it back is simple. Just follow the same steps as above, but with “Alexa” replacing the name you currently have selected.

You can change Alexa’s name back and forth as many times as you want without penalty. But doing so risks confusing family members who alsotalk to Alexa, as they won’t know what devices are set to respond to what wake word on any given day.

Overall, changing Alexa’s name to something else is an extremely simple affair. And, as you can change it back whenever you want, you may as well experiment until you find the name that suits you best. My personal favorite name to give Alexa is Ziggy, due to the aforementioned Quantum Leap TV show.