bonjourmacosNetwork
Due to a network problem, my iMac was renamed Theater-ATV-8.localname. This is the name that appears when the Terminal hostname name is run.
Nothing I have tried will change this name permanently. I can change it with hostname [new name], but it reverts on reboot.
The name in the Sharing pane in System Preferences if KW-desk-iMAC.
In Lion and Snow Leopard, you can create a network from the AirPort menu and choose whatever SSID you please.
The same dialog should be available from the network preference pane in System Preferences if you prefer that avenue.
UPDATE 3: Updating to 10.10.4 fixes this problem. In this point release discoveryd is replaced by the previously ousted mDNSResponder.
The originally supplied workaround follows...
There is a bug between Yosemite (the daemon discoveryd) and sleep servers. These servers reside in Apple TVs and Airports and act as a proxy for a sleeping machine. For now the only fix seems to be:
On your computer, go to System Preferences --> Energy Saver, and untick "Wake for network access" (or maybe it is "Wake for Wi-Fi access", I think it depends on your interface type).
Shut down your Apple TV/s and/or Airport/s.
On your computer, go to System Preferences --> Sharing, and rename it as you wish.
Reboot your computer and check that the name change has stuck (a reboot is probably not necessary but I did so for good measure).
Power-up your Apple TV/s and/or Airport/s.
I no longer have the incrementing computer name problem, unless I re-enable "Wake for network access".
UPDATE 1: Updating to OS X 10.10.1 (and Apple TV to 7.0.2) didn't help.
UPDATE 2: Whilst improved, it's still broken in OS X 10.10.3. But the buggy daemon discoveryd has apparently been replaced in the 10.10.4 beta by the previously ousted mDNSResponder. So here's hoping it's fixed in the next release. Source: 9to5Mac.
Best Answer
The man page for
hostnamesays:Also, the name in the Sharing prefs pane you mentioned, is that the name that isvisible right there when you open the pane, or the one you can edit when you click the "Edit..." (or similar - in German it's "Bearbeiten...") button?