Rename an object

rename(x, replace)

Author

Hadley Wickham <h.wickham@gmail.com>

Arguments

x

object to be renamed

replace

named vector specifying new names

Details

The rename function provide an easy way to rename the columns of a data.frame or the items in a list.

Examples

rename(mtcars, c(wt = "weight", cyl = "cylinders"))
#>                      mpg cylinders  disp  hp drat weight  qsec vs am gear carb
#> Mazda RX4           21.0         6 160.0 110 3.90  2.620 16.46  0  1    4    4
#> Mazda RX4 Wag       21.0         6 160.0 110 3.90  2.875 17.02  0  1    4    4
#> Datsun 710          22.8         4 108.0  93 3.85  2.320 18.61  1  1    4    1
#> Hornet 4 Drive      21.4         6 258.0 110 3.08  3.215 19.44  1  0    3    1
#> Hornet Sportabout   18.7         8 360.0 175 3.15  3.440 17.02  0  0    3    2
#> Valiant             18.1         6 225.0 105 2.76  3.460 20.22  1  0    3    1
#> Duster 360          14.3         8 360.0 245 3.21  3.570 15.84  0  0    3    4
#> Merc 240D           24.4         4 146.7  62 3.69  3.190 20.00  1  0    4    2
#> Merc 230            22.8         4 140.8  95 3.92  3.150 22.90  1  0    4    2
#> Merc 280            19.2         6 167.6 123 3.92  3.440 18.30  1  0    4    4
#> Merc 280C           17.8         6 167.6 123 3.92  3.440 18.90  1  0    4    4
#> Merc 450SE          16.4         8 275.8 180 3.07  4.070 17.40  0  0    3    3
#> Merc 450SL          17.3         8 275.8 180 3.07  3.730 17.60  0  0    3    3
#> Merc 450SLC         15.2         8 275.8 180 3.07  3.780 18.00  0  0    3    3
#> Cadillac Fleetwood  10.4         8 472.0 205 2.93  5.250 17.98  0  0    3    4
#> Lincoln Continental 10.4         8 460.0 215 3.00  5.424 17.82  0  0    3    4
#> Chrysler Imperial   14.7         8 440.0 230 3.23  5.345 17.42  0  0    3    4
#> Fiat 128            32.4         4  78.7  66 4.08  2.200 19.47  1  1    4    1
#> Honda Civic         30.4         4  75.7  52 4.93  1.615 18.52  1  1    4    2
#> Toyota Corolla      33.9         4  71.1  65 4.22  1.835 19.90  1  1    4    1
#> Toyota Corona       21.5         4 120.1  97 3.70  2.465 20.01  1  0    3    1
#> Dodge Challenger    15.5         8 318.0 150 2.76  3.520 16.87  0  0    3    2
#> AMC Javelin         15.2         8 304.0 150 3.15  3.435 17.30  0  0    3    2
#> Camaro Z28          13.3         8 350.0 245 3.73  3.840 15.41  0  0    3    4
#> Pontiac Firebird    19.2         8 400.0 175 3.08  3.845 17.05  0  0    3    2
#> Fiat X1-9           27.3         4  79.0  66 4.08  1.935 18.90  1  1    4    1
#> Porsche 914-2       26.0         4 120.3  91 4.43  2.140 16.70  0  1    5    2
#> Lotus Europa        30.4         4  95.1 113 3.77  1.513 16.90  1  1    5    2
#> Ford Pantera L      15.8         8 351.0 264 4.22  3.170 14.50  0  1    5    4
#> Ferrari Dino        19.7         6 145.0 175 3.62  2.770 15.50  0  1    5    6
#> Maserati Bora       15.0         8 301.0 335 3.54  3.570 14.60  0  1    5    8
#> Volvo 142E          21.4         4 121.0 109 4.11  2.780 18.60  1  1    4    2
a <- list(a = 1, b = 2, c = 3)
rename(a, c(b = "a", c = "b", a="c")) 
#> $c
#> [1] 1
#> 
#> $a
#> [1] 2
#> 
#> $b
#> [1] 3
#> 

# Example supplied by Timothy Bates
names <- c("john", "tim", "andy")
ages <- c(50, 46, 25)
mydata <- data.frame(names,ages)
names(mydata) #-> "name",  "ages"
#> [1] "names" "ages" 

# lets change "ages" to singular.
# nb: The operation is not done in place, so you need to set your 
# data to that returned from rename

mydata <- rename(mydata, c(ages="age"))
names(mydata) #-> "name",  "age"
#> [1] "names" "age"