r dataframe rename column names code example

Example 1: r rename columns

# Rename column by name: change "beta" to "two"
names(d)[names(d)=="beta"] <- "two"
d
#>   alpha two gamma
#> 1     1   4     7
#> 2     2   5     8
#> 3     3   6     9

# You can also rename by position, but this is a bit dangerous if your data
# can change in the future. If there is a change in the number or positions of
# columns, then this can result in wrong data.

# Rename by index in names vector: change third item, "gamma", to "three"
names(d)[3] <- "three"
d
#>   alpha two three
#> 1     1   4     7
#> 2     2   5     8
#> 3     3   6     9

Example 2: r rename columns

library(plyr)
rename(d, c("beta"="two", "gamma"="three"))
#>   alpha two three
#> 1     1   4     7
#> 2     2   5     8
#> 3     3   6     9