Here is how to change your Mac’s name. This method works on both OS X Lion and Snow Leopard.
Your Mac’s computer name is used to identify it on the network. By default, other computers will see your Mac as something like “Tasman Hayes’s MacBook Air“. I like to change it to something simple like “tazair“.
To change the Mac’s name:
- Click the Apple menu at the top and choose System Preferences…
- Click the Sharing icon. (It’s in the Internet & Wireless section, third row down.)
- In the Computer Name field, type your Mac’s new name.
- Click the red cross in the top left corner of the window. This will close the Sharing preferences window and apply your Mac name change.
Did you know in geek speak the Mac computer name is called a host name, or hostname?This is because Mac OSX’s was developed in part from Unix, which uses this term.
Tested on Mac OS X Lion 10.7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 (10.6.7, 10.6.8).