CNAME
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Networking
| Stands for | Canonical name (record) |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
CNAME stands for Canonical name (record), a networking abbreviation.
Makes one domain name an alias for another in DNS, so www.example.com can point to example.com or to a hosting provider's hostname. The resolver follows the alias and then looks up the target's address.
Example: Add a CNAME for shop.example.com pointing to the store platform's hostname.
Usage notes
A name with a CNAME cannot hold any other records, which is why a bare domain (the zone apex) cannot normally be one. DNS providers offer workarounds called ALIAS, ANAME or CNAME flattening. SaaS platforms commonly ask customers to add a CNAME to connect or verify a custom domain.
Related abbreviations
More networking abbreviations
- ASN – Autonomous system number
- ATM – Asynchronous Transfer Mode
- BGP – Border Gateway Protocol
- CGNAT – Carrier-grade NAT
- CIDR – Classless Inter-Domain Routing
- CIFS – Common Internet File System
- CRC – Cyclic redundancy check
- CSMA/CD – Carrier-sense multiple access with collision detection
- DDNS – Dynamic DNS
- DHCP – Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
- DMZ – Demilitarized zone
- DNS – Domain Name System