Outbound Caller ID Name

The Basics

Caller ID is the service that transmits a caller's telephone number to the called party's telephone device when the call is being set up. This article will be focused on the Outbound Caller ID Name, which is the name associated with the number that appears with the Caller ID [number]. 

Question: How do I change my Caller ID Number?

• Modifying Caller ID Number
• Local Presence Dialing

Question: How do I change my Outbound Caller ID Name?

• Outbound Caller ID Name can be modified within the Kixie.com dashboard by doing the following:
• NOTE: You must use only letters, numbers, special characters such as periods, #, !  are not accepted.  
  1. Log into Kixie.com
  2. Select "My Profile" > "Edit" > "Profile"
  3. Modify the Outbound Caller ID Name field

Question: Why doesn't my Outbound Caller ID Name always display what I set it as?

• What is displayed as the Outbound Caller ID Name is determined by the call recipient's telephone provider and device. Kixie sends your data (including Outbound Caller ID Name), to the recipient's phone provider, but the recipient's phone provider may choose not to display it, or may utilize a CNAM lookup instead. 
  • What is CNAM lookup?
    •  In the US, telephone service providers may only receive the number (not the name) of the calling party when the call is routed from other networks. In this case, the provider usually performs a 'CNAM Lookup' which basically means they acquire access to massive phone-book type databases that store personal/business names associated with phone numbers. Once the result of the CNAM name look-up is retrieved it is then sent to the receiving party. Under this system, businesses cannot modify the outgoing Caller ID name (since the databases used in CNAM lookup are not really set-up for real-time name updates). 
• Given the above, here are two Potential reasons why your Outbound Caller ID Name doesn't always display what you set it as:
  1. What this means the person you are calling has a provider that chooses to not relay/display the Outbound Caller ID Name data that we send them
  2. OR that the person you called is likely using a software/program that implements CNAM lookup, which is pulling different information