ENS App and Explorer are on the Sepolia testnet. Features may change before mainnet.
You create a subname (like alice.yourname.eth) entirely in ENS Explorer, not the ENS App. It's a two-step job: first deploy a subregistry on the parent name, then create the subname inside it. You need to own the parent name.
Step 1: Deploy a subregistry (once per name)
Note: onchain changes cost gas — the network fee Ethereum charges to process a transaction. It is paid in ETH from your connected wallet and goes to the network, not to ENS. Your wallet shows the exact fee before you approve.
In ENSv2, a name can't hold subnames until a subregistry (a contract that manages that name's subnames) has been deployed for it. Names ship without one.
Open your name in Explorer and go to the Subnames tab. If no subregistry is deployed yet, you'll see an empty-state card reading
You must deploy one to create subnames.with aDeploy subregistrybutton.Select
Deploy subregistry. On the deploy page, leaveUse custom registryswitched off unless you want to connect a subregistry contract you already deployed elsewhere.Select
✓ Deploy subregistryand approve each wallet prompt in turn: firstDeploy subregistry, thenSet subregistry.
Once both steps confirm, the Subnames tab becomes a managed table with a + Create subname button. You only do this once; every future subname uses the same subregistry.
Step 2: Create the subname
On the Subnames tab, select
+ Create subname.Type the label you want in the
Subnamefield; the.yourname.ethsuffix is added for you.Set the
Owner. It's pre-filled with your wallet address, or enter another ENS name or address to hand the subname to someone else.Select
Create subnameand approve the transaction in your wallet.
The new subname appears as a row in the Subnames table. It's a full ENS name in its own right: it can hold records, have its own resolver and roles, and be managed from its own Name page.
Common questions
Why can't I create a subname on my name?
The Deploy subregistry and + Create subname buttons only appear for the connected owner, so check you're connected with the wallet that owns the name. If you own it and still see the empty-state card, no subregistry has been deployed yet; that's step 1 above. On an older ENSv1 name held in the Name Wrapper, a permission that was switched off for good (a burnt fuse) can also block subname creation; the name's Fuses tab shows if that is the case.
Do subnames cost anything?
Only gas: there's no ENS fee on subnames, though a project issuing them may charge its own. They don't expire on their own — they last as long as the parent stays registered. Full answer: What is a subname?
Why does my new subname's Roles tab show an address I don't recognise?
The subregistry contract assigns a default manager (called the operator) to every new subname, and that address may not be the wallet that created it. That is expected, not an error.
Can others claim subnames under my name?
A subregistry can be set up to let others claim names under yours. Projects that hand out subnames (for example, a DAO issuing you.theirdao.eth) run their own subregistry rules, including whether to charge. Those rules are a decision of the subregistry, not ENS itself.
How much control do I keep over subnames I've given out?
That depends on how your subregistry is configured; see What can the parent of a subname still do?