Mac Setup

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Change Mac Username

How to change your Mac username, account name, and home folder. Learn how by creating a temporary admin account.

This article is part of a series on Mac Setup. See also: Change Mac Name for an overview of all 7 Mac names.

Changing the Mac username is just part of setting up a Mac. See the full roadmap to set up a Mac for software development.

Before you get started

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Warning about Mac username changes

Changing your username is the most complex Mac name change and can break things if done wrong. The home folder path changes, which can affect file paths, symlinks, and application settings. Do this on a fresh Mac before installing development tools if possible.

Three related names

Your Mac account has three related names. Understanding the difference helps you decide what to change.

Full User Name. The display name on the login screen. Easy to change. Does not affect your home folder or file paths.

Username (short name). The name in your terminal prompt (whoami), your home folder path (/Users/yourname), and file permissions. Harder to change.

User Home Folder. The directory at /Users/yourname. Renaming it requires matching it to the new username.

Change your Full User Name

Changing the Full User Name is simple and does not affect your username or home folder.

Open System Settings > Users & Groups. Click the info button (the circled "i") on your account. Change the User Name field. This only changes the display name on the login screen.

Change your username (short name)

Changing the username (short name) requires creating a temporary administrator account. Follow these steps carefully.

  1. Open System Settings > Users & Groups > Add Account. Create a new administrator account with a temporary name and password.
  2. Log out of your current account (Apple menu > Log Out).
  3. Log in to the new administrator account.
  4. Open Finder and navigate to /Users/. Rename your original home folder from the old name to the new name. Or open a terminal application and use this command:
$ mv /Users/oldname /Users/newname
  1. Open System Settings > Users & Groups. Right-click (or Control-click) your original account and select Advanced Options.
  2. Change the "User name" field to the new username. Change the "Home directory" field to /Users/newname to match the renamed folder.
  3. Log out of the administrator account. Log back into your original account.

Verify the change by opening a terminal application and running:

$ whoami
$ echo $HOME

Both commands should show your new username and home folder path. After you confirm everything works, delete the temporary administrator account in System Settings > Users & Groups.

Home folder warning

After the home folder is created, changing its name can break:

  • Absolute paths in shell configuration files (.zshrc, .zprofile)
  • Application settings that reference /Users/oldname
  • Homebrew symlinks and caches
  • Git configuration

If you are setting up a new Mac, it is easier to create a fresh account with the desired username than to rename an existing one.

Apple ID Name

Your Apple ID Name is separate from your Mac username. It is the name associated with your Apple account. Change it at System Settings > Apple Account > Personal Information > Name.

The Apple ID Name was used to create your original username when you first set up the Mac. However, changing the Apple ID Name afterward does not change your username.

Related guides

Continue setting up your Mac

Don't miss the full visual roadmap and checklist that shows how to set up a Mac for software development, with all the essential tools and settings you might not yet know about.