Pandas TypeError 'list' object is not callable - rename Pandas columns

John D K -

The Pandas error 'list' object is not callable is raised when we try to rename dataframe columns. Usually this means that we try to use list instead of a dict with method: .rename().

df.rename(columns=['A', 'B', 'C'])

results into:

TypeError: 'list' object is not callable

while

cols = {'A':'AA', 'B': 'BB', 'C': 'CC'}
df.rename(columns=cols)

works fine.

Here's how to correctly rename columns in pandas and avoid the error:

1. Rename with a dictionary using .rename()

The correct syntax for renaming Pandas columns is:

df = df.rename(columns={'old_name': 'new_name'})

Below you can find full example of renaming columns:

import pandas as pd

df = pd.DataFrame({
  "A": [0, 1, 2, 3],
  "B": [3, 5, 7, 9],
  "C": [1, 2, 3, 4]
})

cols = {'A':'AA', 'B': 'BB', 'C': 'CC'}
df.rename(columns=cols)

2. Replace all headers at once using df.columns = [...]

df.columns = ['AA', 'BB', 'CC']

3. Mistake TypeError: 'Index' object is not callable

Similar miskate TypeError: 'Index' object is not callable is raised when we try to invoke dataframe attribute as a method:

df.columns('name', 'age', 'country')

This is because df.columns is attribe, and we're using () as if it were a function.

Error:

df.columns('A', 'B', 'C')

Solution:

df.columns = ['A', 'B', 'C']

This typically happens with incorrect use of parentheses () instead of square brackets [].

In this short post we saw the reasons and solutions for 2 typical Pandas errors:

  • TypeError: 'list' object is not callable
  • TypeError: 'Index' object is not callable

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