title: How to rename a column family in HBase using HBase Shell
body: <p>In the HBase shell, it's possible to delete a column family using:</p>
  
  <pre><code>alter 'tablename', NAME =&gt; 'familyname', METHOD =&gt; 'delete'
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>It's also possible to create a new column family using:</p>
  
  <pre><code>alter 'tablename', NAME =&gt; 'newfamilyname'
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>So it's possible to delete a column family and create a new one, but if I have existing data, deleting the column family deletes the data within that family as well.</p>
  
  <p>How do I rename an HBase column family in an existing table without losing the existing data?</p>