How to change column labels in Pandas DataFrame?

To change or rename a DataFrame’s column labels in pandas, simply assign a new column label (array) to the dataframe column name.

In this tutorial, we will learn how to rename the column labels of Pandas DataFrame, with the help of well illustrated example programs.

Syntax

The syntax for assigning new column names is given below.

dataframe.columns = new_columns

The new_columns must be an array of the same length as the number of columns in the dataframe.

Example 1: Rename column labels of DataFrame

In this example, we will create a dataframe with some initial column names and then change them by assigning the dataframe’s column property.

Python Program

import numpy as np
import pandas as pd

df_marks = pd.DataFrame(
	[['Somu', 68, 84, 78, 96],
	['Kiku', 74, 56, 88, 85],
	['Amol', 77, 73, 82, 87],
	['Lini', 78, 69, 87, 92]],
	columns=['name', 'physics', 'chemistry', 'algebra', 'calculus'])

print('Original DataFrame\n------------------------')
print(df_marks)

#rename columns
df_marks.columns = ['name', 'physics', 'biology', 'geometry', 'calculus']
print('\n\nColumns Renamed\n------------------------')
print(df_marks)

Output

Original DataFrame
------------------------
   name  physics  chemistry  algebra  calculus
0  Somu       68         84       78        96
1  Kiku       74         56       88        85
2  Amol       77         73       82        87
3  Lini       78         69       87        92


Columns Renamed
------------------------
   name  physics  biology  geometry  calculus
0  Somu       68       84        78        96
1  Kiku       74       56        88        85
2  Amol       77       73        82        87
3  Lini       78       69        87        92

New column labels have been applied to the DataFrame.

Summary

In this Panda Guide we renamed the DataFrame’s column labels, with the help of detailed Python example programs.