Learn how to rename your Mac to distinguish it from other computers on your network, in system menus and elsewhere in macOS.
Without a custom computer name, it’s much harder to tell your Mac from other devices on your network. I haven’r renamed my Mac, and it showed up as Unknown in the Find My app. I realized I needed to set a self-explanatory computer name so I could recognize my Mac in the list of network devices, when using AirPlay, and whilst sharing files over AirDrop or Bluetooth.
It only takes a few clicks to rename your Mac; we encourage you to do it as soon as possible by following the steps in this tutorial.
Change the name of your Mac
You can view the current computer name of your Mac, as well as set a new one, in the About settings window on macOS Ventura and later.
- Click the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Select General on the sidebar.
- Click About.
- Click the Name field, then type a new computer name.
- Close out System Settings when done.
If your Mac is running macOS Monterey or older, follow these steps instead:
- Click the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
- Click Sharing.
- Type a new computer name in the Computer Name field.
- Close the System Preferences window.
Rename your Mac with Terminal
If you’re comfortable with the command line, use Terminal to rename your Mac.
- Open the Terminal app on your Mac.
- Type in the following command, making sure to replace YourNewComputerName with the name you’d like to set:
sudo scutil --set ComputerName YourNewComputerName - Press the Enter key to run the command; if needed, type your macOS password.
- Reboot your Mac so that the new computer name is updated everywhere.
Note: To set a computer name that has spaces, enclose it in the double quotation marks (” “). For example, I used the Terminal command sudo scutil --set ComputerName "Ankur M1 MacBook Pro" to rename my Mac to Ankur M1 MacBook Pro. Without the quotation marks, Terminal will only use the first word (Ankur) and ignore the rest (M1 MacBook Pro).
Don’t confuse the computer name in macOS with the names of your other user accounts. If you need to rename your macOS user account, go to System Settings > Users & Groups and click the info button ⓘ next to a user account.
How to rename: