The RENAMES clause provides an alternate data name for a set of data items. 
            
            
               General Format
               
               66 new-name RENAMES rename-1 [ {THRU   } rename-2 ]
                               {THROUGH}
                
            
            
               Syntax Rules
               
               
               
                  
                  - The level-number (66) and new-name are not actually part of the RENAMES clause. They are included in the General Format for clarity. 
                  
- new-name is a user-defined word that is the name of the item being described. 
                  
- rename-1 is the data name of the leftmost data item in the area. 
                  
- rename-2 is the data name of the rightmost data item in the area. 
                  
- All RENAMES entries referring to data items in a logical record must immediately follow the last data description entry of
                     that record. 
                  
- new-name may not be used as a qualifier. 
                  
- new-name must be unique, because it may not be qualified. 
                  
- rename-1 and rename-2 must be the names of items in the same logical record. 
                  
- The data description entries for rename-1 and rename-2 may not contain or be subordinate to an OCCURS clause. 
                  
- A level 66 entry may not rename another level 66 entry. Nor can it rename a level 78, 88, level 01, or level 77 entry. 
- None of the items in the range from rename-1 to rename-2 may contain variable occurrence items. 
                  
- The words THRU and THROUGH are equivalent. 
- rename-2 may not be subordinate to rename-1. The beginning of rename-2 cannot be to the left of the beginning of rename-1. The end of rename-2 must be to the right of the end of rename-1. 
                  
 
            
            
               General Rules
               
               
               
                  
                  - If rename-2 is used, new-name contains all the character positions between the start of rename-1 and the end of rename-2. 
                  
- If rename-2 is used, new-name is treated as a group item. If rename-2 is not used, all the data attributes for rename-1 become attributes of new-name. In this case, you are providing an alternate name for a single data item.