MacOS 10.14.6: Spotlight search displays old file names

Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at startup), does the problem occur in Safe Mode? Could take 10 minutes.

Safe mode attempts to repair Disks & clears lots of caches & loads safe Drivers, & prevents loading of 3rd party extensions, so if Safe Mode works try again in regular boot.

Manually Rebuilding Spotlight via Terminal

If the aforementioned Spotlight control panel approach doesn’t spur a reindexation of the drive, you may need to initiate it manually through the command line. Open Terminal and use the following command string to do so:

sudo mdutil -E /

This basically asks for temporary super user status, which is why Terminal may ask you for your password (it may not if you’ve used a sudo command recently or are already logged in as a super user or root. The command asks the unix tool mdutil to reindex the spotlight database for everything on the computer, including external drives, mounted disk images, etc. To re-index only for a specific drive, use the /Volumes path. For example, for an external drive named “MiniMe,” the command would look like this:

sudo mdutil -i on /

Rebuilding a drive index can take a long time, so be prepared to wait whether you do it through the System Preference panel or the command line.

If still need be…

Open Terminal and run each of these one at a time

/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user

sudo /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Support/lsregister -kill -seed -lint -r -f -v -dump -domain local -domain system -domain user -domain network

killall Dock

sudo mdutil -E /

sudo mdutil -i on /

Rebuilding a drive index can take a long time, so be prepared to wait whether you do it through the System Preference panel or the command line.

Hi big_smile,

Thanks for reaching out through Apple Support Communities for help with your Spotlight search results. We're here for you!

Let's go over all options together. To start, please let us know if you've had an opportunity to restart your Mac since noticing this behavior. If not, please do so now. Here's a guide to help:

Log out, sleep, wake, restart, or shut down your Mac - Apple Support

If the issue persists, it may be that the Spotlight index isn't updating automatically, as expected. In that case, you'll want to rebuild the Spotlight index manually to prevent this issue by following the instructions in this guide:

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support

Let us know if this helps to resolve the behavior you're seeing, or if you've got any questions whatsoever.

Have a great day.

Hi big_smile,

Thanks for confirming that the issue remains after rebuilding the Spotlight index. In that case, we can recommend backing up your data and then upgrading your Mac to the most recent version of macOS, if supported by your computer. This guide explains more about macOS Big Sur and device compatibility:

How to upgrade to macOS Big Sur - Apple Support

This guide goes over options for backing up your data:

Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support

If you find that the same issue remains after upgrading, you'll want to reach out to Apple Support directly at that point to investigate further. Here's a direct link to determine your preferred contact method:

Get Support

Take care!