changing gamertag to an original unique name but still getting the # and numbers

grayce ‎ · May 2, 2025

for some reason i still get numbers after my unique username. why??

:)

Smwutches

That would mean that either the name is actually in use somewhere on Microsoft's servers or you used special characters.

Tezzarrific

This is the new way for gamertags. When you change Gamertag you will have no choice but to have the 4 digits at the back of it.

If you still have a XBox360 you can use the 360 and do a gamertag change on there and achieve what you want.

wrong, you can indeed get a unique name without the #numbers but it has to be unique and not in use anywhere and 12 characters or less.

ArminatorX

The Gamertag naming has been changed to something similar to what Discord does.

If you want to get an "OG" Gamertag (i.e. a Gamertag with no "Xx" or numbers or whatever), simply choose the name you want.

If the name already exists, a number gets appended to make it unique.

So if you want to have for example "Joe" as your Gamertag, and it already exists, an "invisible" number gets appended.

So while the Xbox simply shows "Joe", in reality your Gamertag is stored as "Joe#7411" for example.

Zenosos

Hi AdamAjdukiewicz,

With Xbox new Gamertag system being limited to 12 characters maximum for unique Gamertags, Xbox has started using suffix at the end. If you have this then the original Gamertag is already taken and there is no way to get a refund for the free name change.

Derpcrawler

Xbox ignores spaces when it comes to unique gamertags. For example, my gamer tag is . If someone would try to make Derp Crawler in older days it would tell them that gamertag is taken, now it just gives them numbers after.

The guy who has the tag without spaces is original name that's why he doesn't have hashtag and numbers after.

It's because in their databases Microsoft stores Gamertags without spaces. Like Major Nelson is stored as MajorNelson.

If you want to have unique gamertag without suffix, you need to come up with one. On Gamertag change screen it tells you if Gamertag is unique or not.

You can read about this in new Gamertag FAQ: https://support.xbox.com/help/account-profile/profile/gamertag-update-faq

changing gamertag to an original unique name but still getting the # and numbers