sendgrid from name not working

The display name (the "from name") is the friendly label recipients see instead of a raw address — e.g. Acme Support <support@acme.com>. When it "isn't working," recipients usually see only the bare email address, an old/cached name, or the send fails outright. The cause is almost always where you put the name, not the name itself.

What causes the SendGrid from name to not work?

Most cases fall into one of these:

1. Wrong API structure (most common). SendGrid's v3 Mail Send API expects the display name as a separate name field inside the from object. If you cram the name into the email value (e.g. "email": "Acme Support <support@acme.com>"), SendGrid treats the whole string as the address and either drops the name or returns a validation error.
2. Using the wrong parameter for your API version. The display name field differs by interface: v3 JSON uses from.name; the legacy v2 Web API used a top-level fromname parameter; SMTP uses an RFC 5322 From header. Mixing them (e.g. sending fromname to v3) has no effect on the from name — v3 simply doesn't read that field.
3. The send is rejected for an unverified sender. SendGrid requires every from address to belong to a verified Sender Identity — via Domain Authentication or Single Sender Verification. If the address isn't verified, the mail is blocked with "The from address does not match a verified Sender Identity" before the name ever matters.
4. Marketing Campaigns sender label is stale. In Marketing Campaigns the name comes from the saved Sender record, not your code, so an outdated Sender shows the old name.

How do I fix the SendGrid from name?

v3 Mail Send API (recommended) — put the name in its own field:

"from": {
  "email": "support@acme.com",
  "name": "Acme Support"
}

The name field is optional but, when present, must be a sibling of email — not embedded in it.

SMTP relay — format the header per RFC 5322 §3.6.2:

From: "Acme Support" <support@acme.com>

Legacy v2 Web API only — use the top-level fromname parameter (do not use this with v3; it is ignored there). Prefer migrating to v3.

Marketing Campaigns — set the name under Marketing > Senders (or Settings > Sender Authentication > Single Sender Verification), per SendGrid's Adding Sender Name guide.

Verify the sender first. If the email is rejected rather than just missing a name, authenticate the address — Domain Authentication (generates SPF/DKIM, lets you send from any address at the domain) or Single Sender Verification (single address, fine for testing) — then retry.

Sending through Courier? Courier's SendGrid integration is designed to pass your configured display name through to from.name. If it's not appearing, set it explicitly via the Courier provider override for SendGrid (any field on /mail/send can be overridden), and confirm the same address is a verified Sender in your SendGrid account.

After changing it, send a test to yourself and check the rendered From header — note that some inboxes cache a contact's display name, so test with an address that has never received mail from you.