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What is a primary name?

What a primary name is, how forward and reverse resolution pair up, where your name shows across apps, and how to change it in the ENS App.

ENS App and Explorer are on the Sepolia testnet. Features may change before mainnet.

Your primary name is the ENS name that stands in for your wallet address. When apps look up what you own, they show this name instead of the 0x123...456 address. You can own as many ENS names as you like, but only one is the primary per wallet address.

Where it shows up

Apps and wallets that support ENS display your primary name wherever they'd otherwise show your address: your profile on app.ens.dev, your name in other people's address books, the label on your connected wallet.

The Addresses section of a profile in the ENS App, listing the address records set on the name for Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana and other chains
A wallet button showing an avatar next to the primary name onshow.eth, where an app would otherwise show the address

Most apps and wallets don't show the name alone. They pair it with your avatar. The two travel together as your identity: avatar plus yourname.eth where you'd otherwise see a grey blob and a hex address. The avatar is a record on the name itself, so once your primary name is set, it's worth setting an avatar too — see Customise your avatar, banner & theme.

The banana.eth profile page in the ENS App, with a banner and avatar, a Primary Name badge under the name, and Bio, Connect, Wallet Addresses and Links

Two pieces: forward and reverse resolution

A primary name isn't a single setting; it's a pair of records that match each other:

  • ETH Address on the name: yourname.eth points at your 0x123...456 address.
    Also referred to as forward resolution.

  • Primary name on the wallet: your wallet 0x123...456 points back at yourname.eth.
    Also referred to as reverse resolution.

Both need to be in place. If only one is set, apps either don't show the name, or show stale information. If the ETH address record is missing, the set-primary-name flow offers to set it for you as part of the same run, so you don't need to edit records manually.

Changing your primary name

Change it from within a name's Edit Profile page, or through your Dashboard. Setting a new primary name requires a transaction. See Set your primary name for the steps.

Common questions

Is primary name the same as reverse resolution?

Yes: "primary name" is the user-facing term; "reverse resolution" is the technical mechanism.

  • Forward resolution takes a name and returns an address (yourname.eth → 0x…).

  • Reverse resolution takes an address and returns a name (0x… → yourname.eth).

The primary name is the name that reverse resolution returns for your address on a given network. Both forward and reverse need to be configured for apps to show your name properly.

Why is primary name per network in Explorer?

You can set a Default primary name that covers every EVM chain, or a different one per network. The network rows include Ethereum Mainnet (the row reads Mainnet), Optimism, Base, Arbitrum, Linea and Scroll.

Does my address need one?

Only if you want apps to display your ENS name next to your address. If you just receive payments, forward resolution (the Address record on the name side) is enough. For display, set a primary name.

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