How do I change my google "nickname" that pops up?

[lostinspace2014]

For some (stupid) reason when I set up my google account or maybe gmail (neither of which I remember actually doing - am not even sure if they are one and the same thing) I chose a stupid name.

Now when certain people email me this silly name comes up against my actual name. I assume this only happens to email senders who are sending from gmail but I am not sure. I have looked up how to change this on line but can't match instructions to anything I can see in my account. Please can anyone tell me how to do this? Thanks very much.

Try this -

In Gmail, go to 'Settings' - it's the gear cog symbol on the top right of your screen, it should be above your emails and below your circular account picture.

When you click on it, choose 'Settings' from the drop down, then once in the Settings menu go to the 'Accounts and Import' tab.

There's a option "Send mail as:" so click on 'Edit Info' beside that and a new window will pop up and there you can change the name your account is using when email is sent. You can select either the 'real' name you used when you set up your account or enter a nickname.