Table of Contents
Changing the Remote Desktop name on your system is useful for easier identification of computers in a network, especially in large setups or for remote management purposes.
STEP 1: Check Current Remote Desktop Name
Before making any changes, it’s a good practice to check the current Remote Desktop name.This will display your current computer name that is used in Remote Desktop connections.
# Open PowerShell and run
(Get-WmiObject Win32_ComputerSystem).Name
STEP 2: Change Remote Desktop Name on Windows
On Windows, the Remote Desktop name is tied to the computer’s hostname. You can change it easily via Settings or PowerShell.
# Replace 'NewPCName' with your desired name
Rename-Computer -NewName "NewPCName" -Restart
STEP 3: Change Remote Desktop Name on Linux
On Linux, the Remote Desktop name is usually defined by the hostname. Changing it will update how the machine appears for RDP connections.
# Check current hostname
hostnamectl status
# Change the hostname
sudo hostnamectl set-hostname new-desktop-name
# Verify
hostnamectl status
STEP 4: Change Remote Desktop Name on macOS
Changing the Remote Desktop name on macOS makes it easier to identify your device on networks, improving remote access management while keeping your setup organized and professional.
# Change computer name
sudo scutil --set ComputerName "NewDesktopName"
sudo scutil --set LocalHostName "NewDesktopName"
sudo scutil --set HostName "NewDesktopName"
STEP 5: Verify the Change
Once the change is applied, verify that the new name is displayed when connecting via Remote Desktop:Or on Linux/macOS, reconnect using your preferred RDP client and confirm the updated name appears.
# On Windows, check via PowerShell
(Get-WmiObject Win32_ComputerSystem).Name
