I have to admit I was a little confused when I asked this question, as I thought that it was my Gmail where names and email addresses were connected.
But of course, it's not the local Gmail client that attaches a name to an email for display when receiving, it's whether or not the sender has a name attached to their email, as explained in the answer.
Okay… but, can I set Gmail up in a way so that it will replace a known email address with the name I have for them in my contacts in situations when someone sends me an email with no name set? Or, even better, over rides their name with the one I have set in any case (since I think of them by the name I have set, not what they have set)?
This is standard practise when it comes to phone numbers – when someone calls my Android phone, I see the name that I have set in my contact list. Hopefully this could be done with emails as well.
Best Answer
Currently still no, and probably never. The name that is displayed when you receive an email is the name embedded into that emails
from:header. BUT there are two workarounds that I can think of, hopefully one will help you!Use Filters
One workaround solution is to filter the email address and apply a label to it. This can help if their name is causing any confusion (eg. I have 4 people called
Mike)The Pros of using this is that it will sync across all your computers and devices.
Use a Script
There is a script called DisplayName gmail that takes the contacts name (the one you have set in your contacts list) and displays that instead of their
from:name.You will need to install tampermonkey (Chrome) or greasemonkey (Firefox) and then you can install the script DisplayName gmail (tested and working with chrome).
The cons of using a script is that its not going to work across multiple computers - you would need to install the script on each computer you use. And this also work on your phone.