How to Find Your Computer Name on Windows, Mac, and More

Every device on a network needs a way to identify itself — and that identifier is your computer name (sometimes called a hostname or device name). Whether you're connecting to a shared printer, setting up remote access, or troubleshooting a network issue, knowing where to find this information is a basic but genuinely useful skill.

Here's how to locate it across the most common operating systems, plus what the name actually means and why it matters.

What Is a Computer Name?

A computer name is a label assigned to your device that distinguishes it from other machines on the same network. It's different from your username — the computer name identifies the machine itself, not the person using it.

You'll typically encounter it when:

• Connecting to a home or office network
• Setting up file or printer sharing
• Using Remote Desktop or remote access tools
• Configuring network-attached storage (NAS) or smart home devices
• An IT administrator asks for your device name to troubleshoot remotely

Computer names are usually set during the initial setup of a device. Many manufacturers assign a default name automatically — something like DESKTOP-A7K2B3 or MacBook-Pro-2 — unless you customized it.

How to Find Your Computer Name on Windows 🖥️

Windows gives you several ways to find the device name, depending on which version you're running.

Windows 11 and Windows 10

Method 1 — Settings:

1. Open Settings (Windows key + I)
2. Go to System
3. Select About
4. Look for Device name near the top of the page

Method 2 — Control Panel:

1. Open Control Panel
2. Navigate to System and Security → System
3. Find Computer name under the basic information section

Method 3 — Command Prompt or PowerShell:

1. Press Windows key + R, type cmd, and press Enter
2. Type hostname and press Enter
3. Your computer name will appear on the next line

The hostname command is especially useful if you want a quick answer without navigating menus.

Windows 7 and Windows 8

Right-click Computer (or This PC) on the desktop or in File Explorer, then select Properties. Your computer name appears under the Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings section.

How to Find Your Computer Name on macOS 🍎

On a Mac, the computer name is also used as the Bonjour name — which is how your Mac shows up to other Apple devices and services on the local network.

Method 1 — System Settings (macOS Ventura and later):

1. Click the Apple menu → System Settings
2. Select General → Sharing
3. Your computer name is shown at the top of the Sharing panel

Method 2 — System Preferences (macOS Monterey and earlier):

1. Click the Apple menu → System Preferences
2. Open Sharing
3. Your Computer Name is displayed at the top

Method 3 — Terminal:

1. Open Terminal (found in Applications → Utilities)
2. Type hostname and press Return
3. The result shows the local hostname your Mac uses on the network

Note that macOS may show two slightly different names: a friendly computer name (like "Maria's MacBook Pro") and a local hostname (like Marias-MacBook-Pro.local). Both refer to the same machine — the local hostname is just a network-safe version with spaces and punctuation removed.

How to Find Your Device Name on Other Platforms

Linux

Open a terminal and type hostname, then press Enter. For more detail — including the fully qualified domain name — use hostname -f. Most Linux distributions also let you find the hostname in system settings under a Details or About section, though the exact location varies by desktop environment (GNOME, KDE, etc.).

Chromebook

1. Click the system clock in the bottom-right corner
2. Select Settings
3. Go to About ChromeOS → Additional details
4. Your device's name or serial information will appear here

Network hostname on ChromeOS can also be found via the Linux terminal (if enabled) using the same hostname command.

Android and iOS/iPadOS

Mobile devices use a device name that works similarly on local networks:

• Android: Settings → About phone → Device name
• iPhone/iPad: Settings → General → About → Name

These names appear when devices share files, connect via Bluetooth, or appear on a Wi-Fi network. The exact path may vary slightly depending on manufacturer skin (Samsung One UI, Pixel UI, etc.) or iOS version.

Factors That Affect What You See

Not everyone sees the same format or level of detail when checking a computer name, and a few variables account for that:

On corporate or enterprise networks, the computer name may include a domain suffix — for example, LAPTOP-04.companyname.local. This is normal and reflects how the device is registered within an organizational directory like Active Directory.

When the Computer Name Actually Matters

For most everyday use — browsing, streaming, working locally — you'll never need to think about your computer name. But it becomes relevant the moment your device needs to communicate with something else on a network.

Remote Desktop connections, for instance, rely on the computer name or IP address to route the session to the correct machine. Network drives and shared folders use computer names to locate the host. Even some smart home platforms reference device hostnames when setting up local integrations.

The command-line hostname method works consistently across Windows, macOS, and Linux — which makes it a reliable fallback regardless of how much the graphical interface changes between OS versions.

How important it is to know — or change — your computer name depends on how your device is used, what network it lives on, and whether anyone else needs to find it reliably. Those details vary from setup to setup.