Aliases in SQL

Last Updated : 31 Aug, 2026

In SQL, aliases provide temporary names for columns or tables to make queries cleaner and easier to understand. They are especially helpful in complex queries or when dealing with lengthy names.

Example: First, we create a demo SQL database and table, on which we will use the Aliases command.

sql_output

Query:

SELECT emp_id AS id
FROM employees;

Output:

Output
  • The query selects the emp_id column from the employees table.
  • It assigns a temporary alias id to the emp_id column in the result set.
  • The output displays the employee IDs under the column name id.

Types of aliases

There are two types of aliases:

Column Aliases

A column alias is used to rename a column just for the output of a query. They are useful when:

  • Displaying aggregate data
  • Making results more readable
  • Performing calculations

Syntax:

SELECT column_name AS alias_name
FROM table_name;
  • column_name: column on which we are going to create an alias name.
  • alias_name: temporary name that we are going to assign for the column or table. 
  • AS: It is optional. If you have not specified it, there is no effect on the query execution. 

Let's understand Aliases in SQL with the help of example. First, we will create a demo SQL database and table, on which we will use the Aliases command.

Screenshot-2026-08-21-162003

Query:

SELECT customer_id AS id
FROM customer;

Output:

id
  • The output displays customer IDs under the column name id.

Table Aliases

A table alias is used when you want to give a table a temporary name for the duration of a query.

Query:

SELECT DISTINCT c1.customer_name, c1.country
FROM customer AS c1
JOIN customer AS c2
ON c1.age = c2.age
AND c1.country = c2.country
AND c1.customer_id <> c2.customer_id;

Output:

Screenshot-2026-08-21-164924
  • The query uses table aliases (c1 and c2) for the same customer table.

Combining Column & Table Aliases

We want to fetch customers who are aged 21 or older and rename the columns for better clarity. We will use both table and column aliases.

Query:

SELECT c.customer_name AS name,
       c.country AS location
FROM customer AS c
WHERE c.age >= 21;

Output:

Screenshot-2026-08-21-164934
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