How can I use pandas rename column functionality to change the labels of a DataFrame?

General Discussions
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1

How can I use pandas rename column functionality to change the labels of a DataFrame from ['$a', '$b', '$c', '$d', '$e'] to ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e']?

2

Pandas provides the .rename() method, which allows you to rename specific columns by passing a dictionary mapping old names to new ones:

import pandas as pd

df = pd.DataFrame(columns=['$a', '$b', '$c', '$d', '$e'])

df = df.rename(columns={'$a': 'a', '$b': 'b', '$c': 'c', '$d': 'd', '$e': 'e'})

print(df.columns)
3

If you want a dynamic approach, you can use .str.replace() to remove the $ symbol from all column names in one go:

df.columns = df.columns.str.replace(r'^\$', '', regex=True)

print(df.columns)
4

Another quick method is to directly assign a new list of column names:

df.columns = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e']

print(df.columns)