This article will cover how to rename a column in SQL Server. The function of a SQL Server rename column is not performed too often. Usually we do this when we roll out a new product and we want to make a column more generic.
SQL Server Rename Column (SQL Server 2005 and beyond)
They make this super simple. Just remember to put to single quotes around the parameters.
EXEC sp_rename 'Animals.AnimalName', 'AnimalRealName', 'COLUMN'
The above SQL Server rename column code snippet has a few parts to it. Here is the breakdown:
- sp_rename – This is a system stored procedure will rename different types of objects in SQL Server.
- ‘Animals.AnimalName’ – This is the tablename and column that I would like to rename.
- ‘AnimalRealName’ – This is the new name that I would like to call the column.
- ‘COLUMN’ – This is the type of object that you would like to rename is. To rename a column, always leave this value ‘COLUMN’.
If you would like to know how to do a SQL Server rename column for SQL Server versions prior to 2005, please leave a note in the comments.
Reference: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms188351(v=sql.90).aspx