How to rename your Mac

All computers have a name to easily identify them within a local network and distinguish them from other computers. In addition, in the case of Macs this name also appears in the Terminal windows, right at the beginning of the command line and also in some wallpapers.

MacOS sets the computer model and the name of the main user as the default name for Macs. For example, in my case Manu’s MacBook Pro , a rather generic name that might not be suitable if you usually work on local networks with many computers or if you prefer to have more customization.

Would you like to change the name of your Mac and don’t know how to do it ? Don’t worry, in the following lines you can learn how to “name” your computer with the name you want, a very quick and simple process.

The steps for renaming a Mac are as follows:

Access System Preferences from the Apple menu in the upper left corner of your computer screen.
Tap on the Share option in the new window that appears.
Type the name you want to assign to it in the Computer Name field.
Close the System Preferences window, click outside the Computer Name field, or go back and save your changes.

This is it. You’ll have changed the name of your Mac and now you’ll see the new name appear if you search for it from another computer within your home or work network. You’ll also see the new name appear in the Terminal windows, and the same is true if you have an active screen saver that shows the name of your computer.

In my case I don’t usually connect my MacBook Pro to networks with many computers, so I usually leave as my computer name Manu’s MacBook Pro . What about you? Do you prefer to leave the generic name or do you prefer to give the computer a name of your own instead? What’s the name of your Mac?

In TodoAppleBlog : How to rename to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch