Outlook is displaying wrong name in email

Correct or delete the Outlook People contact containing your email address and the wrong name, because that contact can supply both the compose-time name and the associated LinkedIn profile even though your account profile already says “Karl.”

1. Correct the contact associated with your address

In Outlook.com or Outlook on the web:

1. Select People in the left navigation.
2. Search for your full email address, not the displayed name.
3. Open every result containing that address.
4. If a contact shows the other person’s name:
   • Select Edit contact, change the name to Karl, and select Save; or
   • Select Delete if it is an erroneous or duplicate contact.
5. Also check for duplicate contacts under both “Karl” and the incorrect name.

Outlook can display LinkedIn information when a saved contact has a public LinkedIn profile using the same email address, so the incorrect LinkedIn card is an important indication that this contact association should be checked.^1^ The exact web editing and deletion controls are documented here.^2^

Start a new message afterward and type the complete email address again.

2. Remove the old recipient suggestion

If the corrected contact is saved but the wrong name still appears while composing, it may remain in Outlook’s recipient-suggestion data. Those suggestions can come from personal contacts, organizational contacts, and names previously used in messages.^3^

• When the incorrect suggestion appears under To, select the X beside it if available.
• If it keeps returning, clear the account-level suggestion data:

Personal Outlook.com/Hotmail account

1. Open the Microsoft account Privacy page.
2. Under Empower your productivity, select People suggestions.
3. Turn the option Off.

Work or school account

1. Open Settings & Privacy for the work or school account.
2. Select Privacy.
3. Under Data options, expand Manage contact suggestions and discovery.
4. Under Discovered contacts, select Clear data.

Clearing discovered contacts does not delete personal contacts or the organization’s directory.^3^

3. Correct the LinkedIn association separately

If the wrong LinkedIn profile remains after correcting the contact:

• If your Microsoft and LinkedIn accounts are connected: disconnect them from the Microsoft account:
  1. Microsoft account → Privacy → Overview.
  2. Open Other privacy settings → Apps and services.
  3. Select Apps and services that can access your data.
  4. Remove the LinkedIn permissions.
  Alternatively, in LinkedIn select Me → Settings & Privacy → Account → Partners and services → Microsoft → Remove.^4^
• If the unfamiliar LinkedIn profile actually has your email address attached to it: contact LinkedIn Support to separate that email from the incorrect profile. Microsoft’s guidance identifies LinkedIn Support as the correction path for a work or school address linked to an unrecognized LinkedIn profile.^5^

Disconnecting LinkedIn suggestions can take up to 24 hours to take effect, and people previously emailed may continue to appear as suggestions.^6^

If the wrong name is visible to recipients in messages—not merely in the To suggestion or profile card—compare the same account in Outlook.com and another browser. If it appears everywhere and this is a work or school mailbox, the organization’s administrator must inspect the directory/profile source rather than the already-correct local Outlook profile.

References

1. Using contacts (People) in Outlook on the web | Microsoft Support
2. [Web](https://support.microsoft.com/outlook/people/add-find-edit-or-delete-a-contact-in-outlook#edit-a-contact-in-outlook-on-the-web-or-outlookcom)
3. Manage suggested recipients in the To, Cc, and Bcc fields in Outlook
4. Disconnect your LinkedIn and personal accounts | Microsoft Support
5. Frequently asked questions about LinkedIn in Microsoft apps | Microsoft Support
6. Remove LinkedIn suggestions | Microsoft Support