If you are reading this guide, we assume that you would like to change the name of your Mac’s user account, and we’ll be glad to help you. The statement that changing the name of an account is next to impossible is incorrect. Apple had gone a long way from the time when users had to deal with their initial names of accounts, having no possibility to edit them. Today, you definitely won’t have to delete the whole Mac user account, to create a new one with a better name option.
The reasons for changing a user’s name can be different: perhaps, you simply made a typo while creating your account, or just think that the name you’ve selected doesn’t seem like a good choice anymore. No matter why you’d like to edit the annoying name, you can do it easily following our instructions.
The home directory name of a Mac account, the short name, and even the full name can all be changed without too much hustle.
Basic statements you need to know about user’s accounts on Mac
Three characteristic features described below refer to any Mac’s user account.
Full name
Clear enough, it is a full name of a user given to an account. Besides, it can also be used as a login name (e.g., Jack Smith).
Short name
(otherwise known as the Account name) is a full name changed to a shorter version; (g., jsmith). A variant of a short name based on the full name you chose will be suggested by your Mac, but you can use basically any option you wish. The short name automatically becomes the login name and will be used as your Home Directory name, too.
Home directory
As mentioned above, the Short name and the Home Directory name are the same. These two names should match at all times, to ensure the correct work of your user’s account. Usually, you can find the Home Directory, placed in User’s Directory, on the startup drive, but you can relocate your Home Directory to any other place on your Mac.
Change your account information easily
Follow the simple instructions given below, to change or edit the name of your user’s account. The most important of a few limiting issues to remember is that the Short name and Home Directory name of your account should always remain same.
Now, let’s change information of your user account.
Get your data backed up
The process of changing the Full name will also make some ground changes in your user’s account, which in its turn may put your data at risk. The problem may occur during the process changing and lead to your data becoming unavailable.
That’s why it is important to make a fresh backup of your data before you get started. First, use a best cleaner for Mac OS X, to get rid of cache and other media clutter before backing your Mac data up. Next, create a current backup on Time Machine. We also recommend you to create a bootable clone of Mac’s startup drive, to ensure that no information gets lost anyway.
Now, you are ready to continue.
Change the Full name of your Mac’s user account
The process of changing of a Full name slightly differs for older versions of MacOS and the most recent macOS.
First of all, you should know that an administrator – the user who owns a Mac account, can make changes in Mac’s account full name.
Changing Full name in OS X Yosemite and later macOS versions
- Click the Dock icon and open System Preferences. Alternatively, select System Preferences in the Apple Menu.
- Select the item ‘Users and Groups.’
- Down in the left corner, find and click the lock icon. Next, enter the administrator’s password for the account you are using at the moment.
- Right-click on the account, the name of which you’d like to change. In the menu that pops up, click ‘Advanced Options.’
- See the name appear in the field ‘Full Name.’ Now, you can edit or completely change it.
- Click the button ‘OK,’ to get the changes saved.
Changing Full name in OS X Mavericks and earlier OS’s
- Open System Preferences, and select the preference pane ‘Users and Groups.’
- In the list that opens, select the Mac user account the name of which you’d like to change.
- Edit or change the field ‘Full Name.’
That’s it; the Full name in your Mac’s user account is changed now.
As you can see, the process of changing a user’s Full name is rather easy, and shouldn’t become an issue for any Mac user, even a novice.