Computer Information

How to find the name of your Mac computer

Your Mac has three identifiers that people may look for on the network: computer name, local hostname (or “local network name”), and network address. To view them, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Sharing, then follow the steps below.

  • Computer name: If you have file sharing turned on in Sharing preferences, users on your network can find your Mac listed by its computer name. To find your Mac, a user chooses Go > “Connect to Server,” then clicks Browse.The computer name for your Mac appears at the top of Sharing preferences.To change the computer name, type a new name in the Computer Name field. You may need to click the lock icon and provide an administrator name and password before you can change the name.


  • Local hostname: Your computer’s local hostname, or local network name, is displayed on your local network so others on the network can connect to your Mac.Your computer’s local network name is displayed beneath the computer’s name at the top of Sharing preferences.The local network name is your computer’s name with “.local” added, and any spaces are replaced with hyphens (-). For example, if your computer’s name is My Computer, your local network name is “My-Computer.local.” Local network names are not case sensitive, so “my-computer.local” is the same as “My-Computer.local.”


  • Network address: If you are sharing your computer’s screen, allowing remote logins, or using other sharing services, other users may need to look for your computer’s network address instead of its name.Your computer’s network address is provided by the Domain Name System (DNS) Server your computer uses. If you don’t use a service, the network address is derived from your computer name.In Sharing preferences, select a service from the list (for example, Remote Login). Your computer’s network address appears to the right of the list of services, and looks similar to this example: ssh[yourname]@17.212.167.33

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