What is CNAME (Canonical Name Record)?
Turkish: CNAME
A CNAME record maps one domain name to another as an alias, commonly used for subdomains, SaaS apps, and CDN endpoints.
What is a CNAME?
A CNAME (Canonical Name) record maps one domain name to another domain name instead of mapping it directly to an IP address. It is commonly used to point subdomains to a target provided by a hosting platform, SaaS product, or CDN.
For example, www.example.com may be a CNAME pointing to a provider hostname. During DNS resolution, the resolver sees the CNAME first, then follows the target name to its A or AAAA records to find the final IP address.
What Should Be Considered?
CNAME records are usually not used at the root domain because the root must also have records such as NS and SOA. Some DNS providers offer CNAME flattening or ALIAS-like features to work around this, but those are provider features rather than plain CNAME behavior.
A CNAME should not be mixed with other record types on the same exact name in normal DNS usage. TTL affects how quickly changes are picked up, so migrations and verification steps should account for propagation time.
DNS record management is the foundation of reliable domain routing. Domain Name System Record is the broader category that includes A, AAAA, MX, TXT, and CNAME records.
Related Terms
DNS maps readable domain names to IP addresses so browsers, email servers, and APIs can reach the right destination without hard-coded numbers.
DNS RecordA DNS record is an instruction that tells a domain where to send web traffic, email, verification checks, or other internet requests.