dplyr::rename() / dplyr::relocate()

rename(.data, ...)
relocate(.data, ..., .before = NULL, .after = NULL)

The rename() function changes column names without changing their position, while relocate() reorders columns without changing their names. Both are part of dplyr and always return a new tibble.

Syntax

rename(.data, ...)

relocate(.data, ..., .before = NULL, .after = NULL)

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
.data	tibble / data.frame	—	Input data frame or tibble
...	name-value pairs	—	For rename(): new_name = old_name. For relocate(): columns to move
.before	column position	NULL	Move selected columns before this column
.after	column position	NULL	Move selected columns after this column

Examples

Basic renaming

Rename columns using the new = old syntax:

library(dplyr)

df <- data.frame(
  id = 1:3,
  name = c("Alice", "Bob", "Carol"),
  score = c(85, 92, 78)
)

# Rename 'score' to 'total_score'
rename(df, total_score = score)
#   id  name total_score
# 1  1  Alice          85
# 2  2    Bob          92
# 3  3  Carol          78

Multiple renames

Rename multiple columns at once:

df <- data.frame(x = 1:3, y = 4:6, z = 7:9)

rename(df, a = x, b = y, c = z)
#   a b c
# 1 1 4 7
# 2 2 5 8
# 3 3 6 9

Using relocate()

Move columns to new positions:

df <- data.frame(
  id = 1:3,
  name = c("Alice", "Bob", "Carol"),
  score = c(85, 92, 78)
)

# Move 'score' to the first position
relocate(df, score)
#   score  id  name
# 1    85  1  Alice
# 2    92  2    Bob
# 3    78  3  Carol

# Move 'name' after 'id'
relocate(df, name, .after = id)
#   id  name score
# 1  1 Alice    85
# 2  2   Bob    92
# 3 3 Carol    78

Combining rename and relocate

Chain operations for complex transformations:

df <- data.frame(
  id = 1:3,
  name = c("Alice", "Bob", "Carol"),
  score = c(85, 92, 78)
)

df %>%
  rename(total_score = score) %>%
  relocate(name, .before = id)
#    name id total_score
# 1 Alice  1          85
# 2   Bob  2          92
# 3 Carol  3          78

Common Patterns

Rename with select syntax

Use rename_with() to rename using a function:

df <- data.frame(
  X1 = 1:3,
  X2 = 4:6,
  Y1 = 7:9
)

# Convert column names to lowercase
rename_with(df, tolower)
#   x1 x2 y1
# 1  1  4  7
# 2  2  5  8
# 3  3  6  9

# Rename using a function on column names
rename_with(df, ~ paste0(.x, "_new"))
#   X1_new X2_new Y1_new
# 1      1      4      7
# 2      2      5      8
# 3      3      6      9

Using .before and .after with multiple columns

Move multiple columns together:

df <- data.frame(
  a = 1:3, b = 2:4, c = 3:5, d = 4:6
)

# Move columns 'b' and 'c' to the front
relocate(df, b:c, .before = a)
#   b c a d
# 1 2 3 1 4
# 2 3 4 2 5
# 3 4 5 3 6

See Also

• dplyr::select
• dplyr::mutate
• dplyr::arrange