How to Change Your Computer's Name on a Mac

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to change the name of your computer (also called the “host name”) in macOS.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Changing the Name of your Mac

1
Click the
menu. It’s at the top-left corner of the screen.
2
Click System Preferences…. It’s near the top of the menu.

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3
Click Sharing. It’s the blue folder icon with a diamond-shaped street sign inside.
4
Type a new computer name into the blank.
5
Press ⏎ Return. The name of the computer is now updated.

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Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Showing Your Mac on the Finder Sidebar

1
Open up the Finder Preferences. From the Finder menu, select Finder Preferences...
2
Enable your device. In the Finder Preferences window, press Sidebar at the top. Under Devices, locate your Mac icon (it's the one with the name you just set).
3
Click the checkbox next to it. Check any other devices or servers you want to appear in the sidebar, and then close the window. Your Mac should now appear in the Finder's sidebar.

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Community Q&A

Question

How do you create a password for a Macbook?

Community Answer

Go to System Preferences. Go to Security & Privacy (gray house icon). Click on "Change Password..." Don't type anything in the "Old Password". Enter your new password in "New Password". Verify it by re-entering it. A password hint will show up. Choose your hint. Then click "Change Password".
Question

How do I change the name of my home folder in the finder?

Community Answer

You can't do that because it would involve all the directories of every file being changed to the new home folder. Your best bet would be to back-up your data, create another account, and then install all the backed up files on the new account.
Question

How can I remove an old Apple ID from a Macbook?

Community Answer

You would have to go into the Settings and log out of that user's account. Afterward, you would need to remove the account and then log into your new account.

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Warnings

Don't use apostrophe (') as in many cases question mark (?) is displayed.

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Helpful 4 Not Helpful 1
Don't set a name you'll regret later on, just in case you forget this process.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 4 Not Helpful 3

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Things You'll Need

A Mac

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About This Article

Tested by:

wikiHow Technology Team

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 20 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 943,305 times.

How helpful is this?

Co-authors: 20

Updated: January 12, 2020

Views: 943,305

Categories: MacBook

Article SummaryX

1. Click the Apple menu.
2. Click System Preferences.
3. Click Sharing.
4. Type a new computer name.
5. Press Return.

Did this summary help you?

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