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Table of contents

1. 1 Pandas Rename Columns
2. 2 Pandas Rename Single Column
3. 3 Pandas Rename Indexes
4. 4 Pandas Rename Single Index
5. 5 Changing the DataFrame inplace
6. 6 Using mapper function to rename columns
7. 7 Using functions to rename columns and indexes
8. 8 Strict Rename and Raising KeyError
9. 9 References

1. Tutorials
2. Pandas
3. Pandas Rename Column and Index

TutorialPandas Rename Column and IndexPublished on August 4, 2022PandasPython

By Pankaj Kumar

Table of contentsPopular topics

Sometimes we want to rename columns and indexes in the Pandas DataFrame object. We can use pandas DataFrame rename() function to rename columns and indexes. It supports the following parameters.

• mapper: dictionary or a function to apply on the columns and indexes. The ‘axis’ parameter determines the target axis - columns or indexes.
• index: must be a dictionary or function to change the index names.
• columns: must be a dictionary or function to change the column names.
• axis: can be int or string. It’s used with ‘mapper’ parameter to define the target axis. The allowed values are (‘index’, ‘columns’) or number (0, 1). The default value is ‘index’.
• inplace: if True, the DataFrame is changed. Otherwise, a new DataFrame is returned and the current DataFrame remains unchanged. The default value is ‘False’.
• level: can be int or level name. It’s used in case of a MultiIndex, only rename labels in the specified level.
• errors: possible values are (‘ignore’, ‘raise’), default is ‘ignore’. If specified as ‘raise’ then KeyError is raised when a dict-like ‘mapper’, ‘index’, or ‘columns’ contains labels that are not present in the Index being transformed. If ‘ignore’, existing keys will be renamed and extra keys will be ignored.

Some important points about rename() function.

1. It’s recommended to use keyword arguments to clearly specify the intent.
2. We can rename single column or multiple columns with this function, depending on the values in the dictionary.

Let’s look into some examples of using Pandas rename() function.

1. Pandas Rename Columns

import pandas as pd d1 = {'Name': ['Pankaj', 'Lisa', 'David'], 'ID': [1, 2, 3], 'Role': ['CEO', 'Editor', 'Author']} df = pd.DataFrame(d1) print('Source DataFrame:\n', df) # rename columns df1 = df.rename(columns={'Name': 'EmpName', 'ID': 'EmpID', 'Role': 'EmpRole'}) print('Result DataFrame:\n', df1)

Output:

Source DataFrame: Name ID Role 0 Pankaj 1 CEO 1 Lisa 2 Editor 2 David 3 Author Result DataFrame: EmpName EmpID EmpRole 0 Pankaj 1 CEO 1 Lisa 2 Editor 2 David 3 Author

The above rename() function call can also be written in the following way.

df1 = df.rename(mapper={'Name': 'EmpName', 'ID': 'EmpID', 'Role': 'EmpRole'}, axis='columns') # axis=1 corresponds to columns

It’s clear that using the keyword arguments is clearer than using the mapper and axis arguments.

2. Pandas Rename Single Column

If you want to rename a single column, just pass the single key-value pair in the columns dict parameter.

df1 = df.rename(columns={'Name': 'EmpName'}) print(df1)

Output:

EmpName ID Role 0 Pankaj 1 CEO 1 Lisa 2 Editor 2 David 3 Author

The result will be the same if there is a non-matching mapping in the columns dictionary.

df1 = df.rename(columns={'Name': 'EmpName', 'X': 'Y'}) # same result since there is no X column

3. Pandas Rename Indexes

If you want to rename indexes, pass the dict for ‘index’ parameter.

df2 = df.rename(index={0: '#0', 1: '#1', 2: '#2'}) print('Renamed Indexes:\n', df2)

Output:

Renamed Indexes: Name ID Role #0 Pankaj 1 CEO #1 Lisa 2 Editor #2 David 3 Author

We can also rename indexes using mapper and axis arguments.

df2 = df.rename({0: '#0', 1: '#1', 2: '#2'}, axis=0) # axis='index' will work, first argument is assigned to 'mapper'

4. Pandas Rename Single Index

df2 = df.rename(index={1: '#1'}) print(df2)

Output:

Name ID Role 0 Pankaj 1 CEO #1 Lisa 2 Editor 2 David 3 Author

5. Changing the DataFrame inplace

If you want to change the source DataFrame itself, pass the inplace argument as True.

import pandas as pd d1 = {'Name': ['Pankaj', 'Lisa', 'David'], 'ID': [1, 2, 3], 'Role': ['CEO', 'Editor', 'Author']} df = pd.DataFrame(d1) print('Source DataFrame:\n', df) df.rename(index={0: '#0', 1: '#1', 2: '#2'}, columns={'Name': 'EmpName', 'ID': 'EmpID', 'Role': 'EmpRole'}, inplace=True) print('Source DataFrame:\n', df)

Output:

Source DataFrame: Name ID Role 0 Pankaj 1 CEO 1 Lisa 2 Editor 2 David 3 Author Source DataFrame: EmpName EmpID EmpRole #0 Pankaj 1 CEO #1 Lisa 2 Editor #2 David 3 Author

6. Using mapper function to rename columns

df = pd.DataFrame({'NAME': ['Pankaj', 'Lisa'], 'ID': [1, 2], 'ROLE': ['CEO', 'Editor']}) print(df) df.rename(mapper=str.lower, axis=1, inplace=True) print(df)

Output:

NAME ID ROLE 0 Pankaj 1 CEO 1 Lisa 2 Editor name id role 0 Pankaj 1 CEO 1 Lisa 2 Editor

7. Using functions to rename columns and indexes

import pandas as pd import math df = pd.DataFrame({'NAME': ['Pankaj', 'Lisa'], 'ID': [1, 2], 'ROLE': ['CEO', 'Editor']}) df.rename(columns=str.lower, index=math.degrees, inplace=True) print(df)

Output:

name id role 0.00000 Pankaj 1 CEO 57.29578 Lisa 2 Editor

8. Strict Rename and Raising KeyError

import pandas as pd df = pd.DataFrame({'NAME': ['Pankaj', 'Lisa'], 'ID': [1, 2], 'ROLE': ['CEO', 'Editor']}) df1 = df.rename(columns={'Salary': 'EmpSalary'}) # unmatched mappings are ignored df1 = df.rename(columns={'Salary': 'EmpSalary'}, errors='raise') # unmatched mappings raising KeyError

Output:

Traceback (most recent call last): File "/Users/pankaj/Documents/PycharmProjects/hello-world/journaldev/pandas/pandas_rename_column.py", line 58, in <module> df1 = df.rename(columns={'Salary': 'EmpSalary'}, errors='raise') KeyError: "['Salary'] not found in axis"

9. References

• pandas DataFrame rename() API Doc
• Python Pandas Module Tutorial

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About the author

Pankaj KumarAuthorSee author profile

Java and Python Developer for 20+ years, Open Source Enthusiast, Founder of https://www.askpython.com/, https://www.linuxfordevices.com/, and JournalDev.com (acquired by DigitalOcean). Passionate about writing technical articles and sharing knowledge with others. Love Java, Python, Unix and related technologies. Follow my X @PankajWebDev

See author profileCategory:TutorialTags:PandasPythonWhile we believe that this content benefits our community, we have not yet thoroughly reviewed it. If you have any suggestions for improvements, please let us know by clicking the “report an issue“ button at the bottom of the tutorial.

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• Table of contents
• 1\. Pandas Rename Columns
• 2\. Pandas Rename Single Column
• 3\. Pandas Rename Indexes
• 4\. Pandas Rename Single Index
• 5\. Changing the DataFrame inplace
• 6\. Using mapper function to rename columns
• 7\. Using functions to rename columns and indexes
• 8\. Strict Rename and Raising KeyError
• 9\. References

• Deploy on DigitalOcean

  Click below to sign up for DigitalOcean's virtual machines, Databases, and AIML products.Sign up

  Popular Topics

  1. AI/ML
  2. Ubuntu
  3. Linux Basics
  4. JavaScript
  5. Python
  6. MySQL
  7. Docker
  8. Kubernetes
  9. All tutorials
  10. Talk to an expert

  Featured tutorials

  1. SOLID Design Principles Explained: Building Better Software Architecture
  2. How To Remove Docker Images, Containers, and Volumes
  3. How to Create a MySQL User and Grant Privileges (Step-by-Step)
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