How to Change the Name of a MySQL Database

by Jeffrey Ober

Overview

Changing the name of a database is a very uncommon occurrence. However, there are times when a database name just needs to be changed. MySQL had a command that was able to change the name of the database for a short time, but it was determined that the command was too risky and was a security risk, and the command was removed. Instead, to effectively change the name of a MySQL database, the database needs to be dumped and then re-created with a new name.

Step 1

Open a shell program to obtain access to the MySQL installation and commands. This can be a command prompt on the local computer or a Telnet-type remote connection.
Step 2

Use the mysqldump command to dump the contents of the current database into a file: mysqldump -u username -p -v olddatabasename > olddatabasenamedump.sql
Step 3

Use the mysqladmin command to create a new database with the name needed for the new database: mysqladmin -u username -p create newdatabasename
Step 4

Use the mysql command to upload the database dump into the newly created database: mysql -u username -p newdatabasename < olddatabasenamedump.sql

5
You can delete the old database once you have tested the new database. You can also delete the SQL file created once the process is complete.
You can delete the old database once you have tested the new database.
You can also delete the SQL file created once the process is complete.