Where your name appears on your laptop and how to change it
Your laptop stores your name in two places: your user account (the name that appears when you log in and in the top-right corner of your screen) and your full name in system settings (which shows up in documents, email signatures, and some applications). On Windows, you change the account name through Settings. On Mac, you do it through System Settings. Both take about five minutes and require you to be logged in as an administrator.
The steps differ slightly between Windows and Mac, and the name you see in one place may not match the name in another — your login name and your display name are separate things. This guide covers both operating systems and explains which name controls what you see.
Key Takeaways
- Your login name (what you type to sign in) and your display name (what appears in documents and emails) are separate and can be changed independently.
- On Windows 11, go to Settings > Accounts > Your info to change your display name, or Settings > Accounts > Other people to change another user's account name.
- On Mac, open System Settings > General > About and click Edit next to your name, or go to System Settings > Users & Groups to change your login name.
- Changing your login name on Mac requires you to restart your computer and may affect file permissions and app access until you restart.
- If you forget your administrator password, you cannot change your account name without resetting it through your Microsoft account (Windows) or Apple ID (Mac).
Changing your display name on Windows 11
Your display name is what appears in the top-right corner of your screen, in documents you create, and in email signatures. To change it, open Settings by pressing the Windows key and typing "Settings," then click the Settings app. Go to Accounts on the left side, then click Your info.
You will see your current name displayed under your account picture. Click the Edit button next to your name. Type your new name in the box that appears, then click Next and Finish. The change takes effect when ready, and you do not need to restart your computer.
Changing your login name on Windows 11
Your login name is what you type when you sign in to your computer. Changing it is more involved than changing your display name because Windows stores it in multiple places. Open Settings, go to Accounts, and click Other people on the left side. Find your account in the list and click it, then click Rename.
Type your new login name and click Next. Windows will ask you to sign out and sign back in for the change to take effect. When you sign back in, use your new login name. If you use a Microsoft account to sign in (rather than a local account), you cannot change the login name this way — you must change it through your Microsoft account settings online instead.
Changing your name on Mac
On Mac, your display name and login name are handled separately. To change your display name, open System Settings by clicking the Apple menu in the top-left corner and selecting System Settings. Click General on the left side, then scroll down to About. You will see your name listed there. Click the Edit button next to it, type your new name, and click OK.
To change your login name on Mac, go back to System Settings and click Users & Groups on the left side. You may need to click the lock icon in the bottom-left corner and enter your administrator password to make changes. Select your account from the list on the left, then right-click your account name and select Advanced Options. Change the name in the "Short name" field. You will need to restart your computer for this change to take effect, and some apps may need you to enter your password again.
What happens to your files and folders when you change your name
On Windows, changing your display name does not affect your files or folders. Your user folder (usually C:\Users\YourName) keeps its original name, and all your files stay where they are. If you change your login name, Windows updates the path to your user folder automatically, but this can occasionally cause issues with older programs that remember the old path.
On Mac, changing your display name does not affect your files. If you change your login name (short name), your home folder keeps its original name, but some applications may lose permission to access your files until you restart. Restarting your computer fixes these permission issues in almost all cases.
Changing the name of another user account
If you are the administrator on your laptop, you can change another person's display name without their password. On Windows, go to Settings > Accounts > Other people, click the account you want to change, and click Rename. On Mac, go to System Settings > Users & Groups, click the lock icon to unlock settings, select the account, and click the edit button next to the name.
To change another person's login name on Mac, you must use Advanced Options (right-click the account and select Advanced Options), which requires administrator access. On Windows, you can change another user's login name through Settings > Accounts > Other people in the same way. Neither change requires the other person to be logged in or present.
Troubleshooting name changes that do not work
If you cannot change your name on Windows, you may not be signed in as an administrator. Check by opening Settings > Accounts > Your info and looking for the word "Administrator" under your account name. If it is not there, ask the administrator of your computer to change it for you, or have them add administrator rights to your account first.
On Mac, if the Edit button does not appear next to your name in System Settings > General > About, you are not signed in as an administrator. If you cannot change your login name because you forgot your administrator password, you will need to reset it through your Apple ID. Restart your Mac, hold Command + Q at the login screen, and follow the prompts to reset your password using your Apple ID.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will changing my name affect my Microsoft account or Apple ID?
No. Your laptop name and your Microsoft or Apple account are separate. Changing your laptop name does not change your account online, and you will still log in with the same email address and password. However, if you use a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows (rather than a local account), you cannot change your login name on the computer itself — you must change it through your Microsoft account settings online.
Can I change my name without restarting my computer?
On Windows, yes — changing your display name takes effect when ready. On Mac, changing your display name also takes effect when ready, but changing your login name requires a restart. If you only need to change how your name appears in documents and emails, you do not need to restart either computer.
What if I change my login name and forget what it is?
On Windows, you can see all user accounts on the login screen. On Mac, you can see your login name by opening System Settings > Users & Groups and looking at the "Short name" field under your account. If you cannot log in because you forgot your password, you can reset it using your Microsoft account (Windows) or Apple ID (Mac) from the login screen.
Does changing my name affect my email or cloud storage?
No. Your email account, OneDrive (Windows), iCloud (Mac), and other cloud services are tied to your email address and password, not to your laptop name. Changing your laptop name does not change any of these accounts or affect your files stored in the cloud.
Can I have different names on different user accounts on the same laptop?
Yes. Each user account on your laptop can have its own name. You can change each one independently by going to Settings > Accounts > Other people (Windows) or System Settings > Users & Groups (Mac) and selecting the account you want to change.