Compared to Windows and Linux, macOS has a straightforward setup process. You can provide a basic admin name, password, and username to proceed. While this is beneficial for most people, you may not always use a thought-out admin name for your computer. If you use your Mac for personal purposes, this is perfect. However, when you take this device to a professional environment, you may need to make some changes.
You may have to change the admin name on Mac due to other situations as well. For instance, you may have got the MacBook/iMac from your family or friends. While re-installing/resetting your Mac is the best way, it will cause data loss. So, many people tend to change the admin name and username. So, regardless of what your reason is, it’s good to know how to change the admin name on Mac.
Before we show you the process, there are a few queries to answer.
What Is Admin Name on Mac?
The admin name refers to the full name of your macOS user account. This name appears on the lock screen and the System Preferences window. You have to provide this name while setting up Mac for the first time.
Usually, a single-user Mac has only one user account. Having said that, you can find other types of accounts, such as Guest and Kids. If you work in an office environment, you may see multiple admin accounts as well.
This is also the name you see on the lock screen of your Mac. So, in an office environment with multiple Mac devices, you should have a unique admin name. This can be your name or of the organization/team you represent.
The specifics aside, it’s incredibly easy to change the admin name of any account on Mac. It’s just that you should be using an Administrator account to make the changes. In case you didn’t know, your account must have administrator privileges to make backend changes of your Mac.
But, you should take a full system backup of your Mac before we move to the name-changing process.
Why Should You Back Up First?
A full-system backup is always a great way to ensure safety. Even if something goes wrong while you change the name, you won’t lose any data. In case you didn’t know, Apple shows you a huge warning, as shown in the image below.
A complete backup of your Mac makes things easy even if things go south. You can choose a variety of backup options according to your convenience. We recommend a tool like Get Backup Pro, which supports secure, convenient, and advanced backups as per your needs. This is way better and more flexible than one of those Time Machine backups.
By the way, a full backup is a necessity when you want to change the home folder name or username of your macOS account. In this case, you are dealing with some of the essential backend folders on Mac. Even the slightest issue can topple your Mac.
That was a precautionary warning. Shall we now see how you can change the admin name on Mac?
How to Change the Admin Name on Mac?
As we said, changing the admin name on a Mac is pretty straightforward. You just need one administrator account and know its password. If you have both of these ready, we can proceed.
Step 1. You have to open System Preferences and choose Users & Groups.
Step 2. In the upcoming window, you can see the list of user accounts and groups.
Step 3. Now, you have to click on the Padlock Icon to make changes.
Step 4. Enter your account password when prompted.
Step 5. Once you have done that, you can right-click on the account you want to change and pick Advanced Options.
Step 6. In the next window, you can see a variety of information about your user account on Mac.
Step 7. Go to the field against Full Name and type in the new admin name for the account.
Step 8. Double-check and press the OK button
You may have to restart your Mac to change the full changes in effect.
After the restart, you should be able to see the new admin name on the lock screen and elsewhere.
Note: These steps can help you change the admin name only. This does not rename the Mac home directory or the username of the account. If you want to change the user account name and home folder of your Mac, you can follow this official tutorial from Apple.
By the way, if you plan to do that, you must take a full backup of the system. We also recommend creating a new Administrator account before you edit the existing account.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, the process of changing the admin name on Mac is easier than ever. You can follow these steps to do it without any issues. Just to be sure, always take a full backup of your system. So, even if you click on the wrong button or provide the incorrect data, you still have a clean shot at getting everything back.