SQL ALTER TABLE Rename Column Syntax. Sometimes we want to change the name of a column. To do this in SQL, we specify that we want to change the structure of the table using the ALTER TABLE command, followed by a command that tells the relational database that we want to rename the column.o do this in SQL, we specify that we want to change the structure of the table using the ALTER TABLE command, followed by a command that tells the relational database that we want to rename the column.