ENS maps 42-byte addresses to human‑readable .eth names. Subnames extend a parent name (e.g., brand.eth) to create subnames for people, apps, and agents — like alice.brand.eth. For a concise overview of how to leverage subnames, how to choose the type of Subnames (Offchain, L2, or L1 subnames), and who uses them, see the Getting started page.

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Different Types of Subnames

ENS subnames can live on L1 or L2 chains, or offchain. L2 and offchain are similar in UX; the key differences are decentralization, cost, and ownership model.

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L1 Subnames

L1 subnames are minted as NFTs directly on Ethereum, offering a fully trustless, decentralized, and permissionless implementation. When a subname is created through the ENS Manager app, it is registered on Ethereum without burning protective fuses—meaning the parent name still retains certain controls. By contrast, creating a subname via the Namespace App burns a specific set of fuses during the “Name Activation”, making every subname minted 100% unruggable and fully controlled by the minter’s address instead of the parent name. The main drawback of L1 subnames is cost: Ethereum’s high gas fees create friction for high-volume minting, making them less practical for large-scale distribution.

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L2 Subnames

L2 subnames are minted as NFTs on a chosen Layer 2 chain, offering a trust-minimized solution that sits between Offchain (fully trustful) and L1 (fully trustless) implementations. Through the Namespace App, users can already mint subnames on Base and Optimism from their ENS Names with no coding required. For developers, it’s also possible to link an ENS name on L1 with custom smart contracts deployed on any L2 network. Depending on the implementation, this setup can be made fully trustless while keeping costs for issuing subnames dramatically lower than on the Ethereum mainnet.

Namespace App

Mint, manage, and sell L1 and L2 subnames from your ENS name using a user-friendly web app.

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Offchain Subnames

Offchain subnames are stored in centralized databases on private servers, powered by CCIP-read. They are ideal for projects that need to issue a large number of subnames to addresses quickly, with no gas fees and with minimal friction. Implementing and managing offchain names is often as simple as interacting with a REST API, making them easy to deploy at scale. From a user’s perspective, offchain subnames behave just like onchain ones—resolving addresses, text records, and other data with no functional differences since they inherit all properties as any other ENS name or a subname. The only distinction is that they are not minted as NFTs. With Namespace’s hybrid resolver, offchain subnames can be issued in massive volumes and seamlessly used across apps and platforms.

Dev Portal

Create and manage offchain subnames from your ENS name using a user-friendly web app.