diff --git a/tests/test_discovery.py b/tests/test_discovery.py
index 7154f1d1..9b59dc1d 100644
--- a/tests/test_discovery.py
+++ b/tests/test_discovery.py
@@ -474,7 +474,7 @@ def test_stale_entry_is_deleted(
                 async with tractor.find_actor(name) as maybe_portal:
                     # because the transitive
                     # `._discovery.maybe_open_portal()` call should
-                    # fail and implicitly call `.delete_sockaddr()`
+                    # fail and implicitly call `.delete_addr()`
                     assert maybe_portal is None
                     registry: dict = await unpack_reg(_reg_ptl)
                     assert ptl.chan.aid.uid not in registry
diff --git a/tractor/_discovery.py b/tractor/_discovery.py
index bf5e5758..3144fca1 100644
--- a/tractor/_discovery.py
+++ b/tractor/_discovery.py
@@ -218,8 +218,8 @@ async def maybe_open_portal(
             # registar actor.
             uid: tuple[str, str] = await reg_portal.run_from_ns(
                 'self',
-                'delete_sockaddr',
-                sockaddr=addr,
+                'delete_addr',
+                addr=addr,
             )
             log.warning(
                 f'Deleted stale registry entry !\n'
diff --git a/tractor/_runtime.py b/tractor/_runtime.py
index 8d6e455e..4ef114ad 100644
--- a/tractor/_runtime.py
+++ b/tractor/_runtime.py
@@ -1994,12 +1994,12 @@ class Arbiter(Actor):
                 f'Request to de-register {uid!r} failed?'
             )
 
-    async def delete_sockaddr(
+    async def delete_addr(
         self,
-        sockaddr: tuple[str, int|str],
+        addr: tuple[str, int|str],
     ) -> tuple[str, str]:
         uid: tuple | None = self._registry.inverse.pop(
-            sockaddr,
+            addr,
             None,
         )
         if uid:
@@ -2010,6 +2010,6 @@ class Arbiter(Actor):
         log.warning(
             report
             +
-            f'{sockaddr!r}@{uid!r}'
+            f'{addr!r}@{uid!r}'
         )
         return uid