Unable to change user folder name on macOS Sonoma Finder.

AJShorty wrote:

AARG! Thank you for the response John. Is there a way to resolve? Or is it too late?

At best all you can do now is start at Step #6 in the article @John Galt linked where you erase the disk & reinstall macOS, but first make sure you have a good backup of the data.

Restoring that data after the clean install, however, is the hard/tricky part since you don't want to bring back anything related to the old system & user. All you want is to transfer your own personal data files....nothing from the previous owner. It is easy enough to manually select your own personal data files in Desktop, Documents, Download folder to copy it to an external data drive or network share. The tricky part is if you have data in any macOS library files such as Mail, Music/iTunes, Video, Photos apps/Libraries, or if you use cloud based file syncing services. You want to avoid restoring everything if this macOS user account was from the previous owner. How you do this is beyond my ability to provide details here.

I can say that using the third party app Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) is a good option since you can manually select & deselect files & folders that you want to transfer to another location (or you can even transfer them into a read-only DMG archive file & put this archive DMG file on external media so you can restore its contents later). CCC has a free trial period. You can use CCC to clone the entire home user folder so you can be 100% sure you have everything including the previous owners files/settings so you can take your time making sure you have all of your own personal files before deleting them from the external media and/or DMG archive.

FYI, whenever you receive any used device, it is best to make sure to perform a clean install of the OS even if the previous owner properly prepared it for sale. For Apple computers, that means the new owner of a used Mac should start at Step#6 in the Apple article @John Galt linked. This way you know it was done correctly and it can sometimes reveal whether the previous owner left any firmware locks or is still managing the device.

Those screenshots show nothing amiss.

I'm not seeing an M in them. Are you referring to the folder with a "house" icon in it? That is the Home Folder for the currently logged in user "chastinshort".

Folders that come with your Mac - Apple Support

Do not attempt to change its name without further instructions.

There are instructions for changing an account name, but I have to warn you that a lot of times these attempts result in problems.

Whatever you do, please make sure to have a full Time Machine backup before attempting this.

Change the name of your macOS user account and home folderApple SupportOfficial Apple Support › en-us

If it's the user's home folder then the name defaults to the name of the user and can only be changed by changing the user's name.

Where are you seeing this? Inside the Users folder? Please post a screenshot of that folder with an M on it.

Each user on a Mac has both a long and a "Full name" (typically the actual name of the person), and an "account name" - this is typically, but not necessarily, an abbreviated version, e.g. if you try to create a user and type "Eric Short" as the full name, your mac will suggest "ericshort" as the account name - BUT in this instance it looks like your account name is "chastinshort", because, presumably, that was the account name that was chosen when the user account was created.

So, nothing wrong here. Your "Full Name" being Eric Short, and your account name being "chastinshort".

As a curiosity, the account name was usually referred to as the "short" user name, and the full name was usually referred to as the "long" user name 😎

AJShorty wrote:

How can I change the account name. The current one, chastinshort is left over from the previous computer owner and stayed with the computer even after doing all resets for selling it.

That Mac's previous owner did not comply with What to do before you sell, give away, trade in, or recycle your Mac - Apple Support. Those steps are not optional and must be complied with lest you experience continual problems with that Mac. Whether it's a family member or not has no bearing on that fact.