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sp_rename (Transact-SQL):

Changes the name of a user-created object in the current database. This object can be a table, index, column, alias data type, or Microsoft .NET Framework common language runtime (CLR) user-defined type.

Caution

Changing any part of an object name can break scripts and stored procedures. We recommend you do not use this statement to rename stored procedures, triggers, user-defined functions, or views; instead, drop the object and re-create it with the new name.

Applies to: SQL Server (SQL Server 2008 through current version), Azure SQL Database.

Syntax

 

sp_rename [ @objname = ] 'object_name' ,

                   [@newname = ] 'new_name'  

                   [,[@objtype = ] 'object_type' ]  

Arguments

[ @objname = ] 'object_name'
Is the current qualified or nonqualified name of the user object or data type.

If the object to be renamed is a column in a table, object_name must be in the form table.column 

or schema.table.column.

If the object to be renamed is an index, object_name must be in the form table.index or schema.table.index.

If the object to be renamed is a constraint, object_name must be in the form schema.constraint.

Quotation marks are only necessary if a qualified object is specified. If a fully qualified name, including a database name, is provided, the database name must be the name of the current database. object_name is nvarchar(776), with no default.

[ @newname = ] 'new_name'

Is the new name for the specified object. new_name must be a one-part name and must follow the rules for identifiers. newname is sysname, with no default.

Trigger names cannot start with # or ##.

[ @objtype = ] 'object_type'
Is the type of object being renamed. object_type is varchar(13), with a default of NULL, and can be one of these values.

value	Description
column	a column to be renamed.
database	a user-defined database. this object type is required when renaming a database.
index	a user-defined index. renaming an index with statistics, also automatically renames the statistics.
object	an item of a type tracked in sys.objects. for example, object could be used to rename objects including constraints (check, foreign key, primary/unique key), user tables, and rules.
statistics	applies to: sql server 2012 through sql server 2016 and azure sql database. statistics created explicitly by a user or created implicitly with an index. renaming the statistics of an index automatically renames the index as well.
User datatype	a clr user-defined types added by executing create type or sp_addtype.

Return Code Values

0 (success) or a nonzero number (failure)

Remarks

You can change the name of an object or data type in the current database only. The names of most system data types and system objects cannot be changed.

sp_rename automatically renames the associated index whenever a PRIMARY KEY or UNIQUE constraint is renamed. If a renamed index is tied to a PRIMARY KEY constraint, the PRIMARY KEY constraint is also automatically renamed by sp_rename.

sp_rename can be used to rename primary and secondary XML indexes.

Renaming a stored procedure, function, view, or trigger will not change the name of the corresponding object name in the definition column of thesys.sql_modules catalog view. Therefore, we recommend that sp_rename not be used to rename these object types. Instead, drop and re-create the object with its new name.

Renaming an object such as a table or column will not automatically rename references to that object. You must modify any objects that reference the renamed object manually. For example, if you rename a table column and that column is referenced in a trigger, you must modify the trigger to reflect the new column name. Usesys.sql_expression_dependencies to list dependencies on the object before renaming it.

Permissions

To rename objects, columns, and indexes, requires ALTER permission on the object. To rename user types, requires CONTROL permission on the type. To rename a database, requires membership in the sysadmin or dbcreator fixed server roles

Examples

A. Renaming a table

The following example renames the SalesTerritory table to SalesTerr in the Sales schema.

USE AdventureWorks2012; 

GO 

EXEC sp_rename 'Sales.SalesTerritory', 'SalesTerr'; 

GO 

B. Renaming a column

The following example renames the TerritoryID column in the SalesTerritory table to TerrID.

USE AdventureWorks2012; 

GO 

EXEC sp_rename 'Sales.SalesTerritory.TerritoryID', 'TerrID', 'COLUMN'; 

GO 

C. Renaming an index

The following example renames the IX_ProductVendor_VendorID index to IX_VendorID.

USE AdventureWorks2012; 

GO 

EXEC sp_rename N'Purchasing.ProductVendor.IX_ProductVendor_VendorID', N'IX_VendorID', N'INDEX'; 

GO 

D. Renaming an alias data type

The following example renames the Phone alias data type to Telephone.

USE AdventureWorks2012; 

GO 

EXEC sp_rename N'Phone', N'Telephone', N'USERDATATYPE'; 

GO 

E. Renaming constraints

The following examples rename a PRIMARY KEY constraint, a CHECK constraint and a FOREIGN KEY constraint. When renaming a constraint, the schema to which the constraint belongs must be specified.

USE AdventureWorks2012;  

GO 

-- Return the current Primary Key, Foreign Key and Check constraints for the Employee table. 

SELECT name, SCHEMA_NAME(schema_id) AS schema_name, type_desc 

FROM sys.objects 

WHERE parent_object_id = (OBJECT_ID('HumanResources.Employee'))  

AND type IN ('C','F', 'PK');  

GO 

 

-- Rename the primary key constraint. 

sp_rename 'HumanResources.PK_Employee_BusinessEntityID', 'PK_EmployeeID'; 

GO 

 

-- Rename a check constraint. 

sp_rename 'HumanResources.CK_Employee_BirthDate', 'CK_BirthDate'; 

GO 

 

-- Rename a foreign key constraint. 

               sp_rename 'HumanResources.FK_Employee_Person_BusinessEntityID', 'FK_EmployeeID'; 

 

F. Renaming statistics

The following example creates a statistics object named contactMail1 and then renames the statistic to NewContact by using sp_rename. When renaming statistics, the object must be specified in the format schema.table.statistics_name.

    CREATE STATISTICS ContactMail1 

    ON Person.Person (BusinessEntityID, EmailPromotion) 

    WITH SAMPLE 5 PERCENT; 

 

sp_rename 'Person.Person.ContactMail1', 'NewContact','Statistics';