{"id":3586,"date":"2026-10-07T14:27:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T14:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucartz.com\/blog\/rename-table-sql\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T14:27:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T14:27:23","slug":"rename-table-sql","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucartz.com\/blog\/rename-table-sql\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Rename a Table in SQL: MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQL Server"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Short answer:<\/strong> in MySQL and MariaDB, use RENAME TABLE old_name TO new_name;<\/code>. In PostgreSQL and SQLite, use ALTER TABLE old_name RENAME TO new_name;<\/code>. In SQL Server, use EXEC sp_rename 'dbo.old_name', 'new_name';<\/code>. Renaming is quick because the data is not copied, but it can break anything that still uses the old name: views, application code, stored queries and, in WordPress, user roles. Take a backup first and check what refers to the table. We ran every command below on MySQL 8.4.11, MariaDB 11.8.9, PostgreSQL 18.6 and SQLite 3.46.1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Terminal
RENAME TABLE on MariaDB 11.8.9: the table gets its new name and keeps its rows.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The syntax for each database<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Database<\/th>Command<\/th>Notes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
MySQL<\/td>RENAME TABLE customers TO clients;<\/code><\/td>ALTER TABLE customers RENAME TO clients;<\/code> also works<\/td><\/tr>
MariaDB<\/td>RENAME TABLE customers TO clients;<\/code><\/td>Also accepts RENAME TABLE IF EXISTS<\/code><\/td><\/tr>
PostgreSQL<\/td>ALTER TABLE customers RENAME TO clients;<\/code><\/td>ALTER TABLE IF EXISTS<\/code> skips a missing table<\/td><\/tr>
SQLite<\/td>ALTER TABLE customers RENAME TO clients;<\/code><\/td>Updates views and foreign keys that refer to it<\/td><\/tr>
SQL Server<\/td>EXEC sp_rename 'dbo.customers', 'clients';<\/code><\/td>The new name is a one-part name, without dbo.<\/code><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You need the right privileges. The MySQL manual<\/a> lists ALTER<\/code> and DROP<\/code> on the old table plus CREATE<\/code> and INSERT<\/code> for the new name. If you get an access denied error on shared hosting, check the privileges your database user has been given in the control panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MySQL and MariaDB<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A plain rename:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RENAME TABLE customers TO clients;<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
RENAME TABLE<\/code> can rename several tables in one statement, working left to right. MySQL documents that the operation is atomic: no other session can use the tables while it runs, and if any part fails, nothing changes. That makes it the right tool for swapping in a freshly built copy of a table:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CREATE TABLE products_new LIKE products;\n-- fill products_new, check it, then:\nRENAME TABLE products TO products_old, products_new TO products;<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
After the swap, SELECT * FROM products<\/code> returned the new rows straight away. For MariaDB, its documentation<\/a> says the statement has been atomic for InnoDB, MyISAM and Aria since 10.6.1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can also move a table into another database on the same server by naming the database:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RENAME TABLE shop.products_old TO archive.old_products;<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
That worked, but the same move failed for a table with a trigger:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ERROR 1435 (HY000): Trigger in wrong schema<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
What happens to foreign keys and views<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
We created an orders<\/code> table with a foreign key to customers<\/code>, and a view that joins the two. After RENAME TABLE customers TO clients<\/code>, InnoDB had updated the foreign key by itself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CONSTRAINT `orders_ibfk_1` FOREIGN KEY (`customer_id`) REFERENCES `clients` (`id`)<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The view was not updated. Both MySQL and MariaDB returned this when we queried it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ERROR 1356 (HY000): View 'shop.order_list' references invalid table(s) or column(s) or function(s) or definer\/invoker of view lack rights to use them<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The fix is to recreate the view with the new table name using CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW<\/code>. Also note that, according to the MySQL manual, privileges granted on the old table name are not moved to the new name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MySQL errors you might see<\/h3>\n\n\n\n