You create a subname (like alice.yourname.eth) entirely in ENS Explorer, not the ENS App. On an ENSv2 name it's a two-step job: first deploy a subregistry on the parent name, then create the subname inside it. On a name still on ENSv1, skip the subregistry (see below). Either way, connect the parent's owner, or its Manager if it's an unwrapped ENSv1 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, select
Deploy subregistry.On the name's Registry page, select
+ Configure registry, thenDeploy a new Permissioned Registry contract, thenDeploy.Select
Startand 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.
Deploying also gives your wallet the roles on the new registry, such as Registrar, which lets it create subnames. You can see them on the name's Roles tab: see Who can manage my name? Roles in ENS Explorer.
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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 and roles and be managed from its own Name page. On an ENSv2 name, unless you give it a resolver of its own, it uses the parent's resolver, so whoever can edit the parent's records can edit its records too; to change that, see Change the resolver on your name in ENS Explorer.
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Create a subname under a name still on ENSv1
A name still on ENSv1 needs no subregistry: skip Step 1 and follow Step 2, connected with the name's Manager (unwrapped name) or its owner (wrapped name). The name's Ownership section shows which wallet that is.
Delete a subname
You delete a subname from its parent name's Subnames section, connected with the wallet that owns the parent, or its Manager if it's an unwrapped ENSv1 name. An ENSv1 subname's own holder can delete it there too. The subname's own page has no delete control.
Open the parent name with one of those wallets connected, and go to its Subnames section.
If the parent has more than 100 subnames and the one you want is not shown, select
Load more subnamesat the end of the list. Search covers only the subnames loaded so far.Select the bin icon on the subname's row. When Explorer asks
Remove <subname>?, selectConfirm. To delete several subnames at once, select their rows, thenClear.In the
Delete subnamewindow, selectStart, thenOpen wallet, and approve in your wallet. If the subname is on ENSv1 and is not wrapped but its parent is, the window listsWrap subnameand thenDelete subname: approve each.When it confirms, select
Done.
The subname leaves the Subnames table; if it was the last one, the tab reads No subnames yet. Its own page then shows Name not found.
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Common questions
Why can't I create a subname on my name?
The Deploy subregistry and + Create subname buttons only appear for the parent's owner, or its Manager if it's an unwrapped ENSv1 name, so check which wallet is connected. On an ENSv2 name:
You can't create subnames here: your wallet lacks the Registrar role on the name's subregistry.<label>.<name> is reserved, and the connected wallet can't register reserved labels.: the label needs the Register Reserved role too.If you own the name and still see the empty-state card, no subregistry has been deployed yet — that's step 1 above.
On a name still on ENSv1, the reason shows as one of these titles:
Only its owner can create subnames: switch to the wallet that holds the name.This name is in its grace period: renew the name first.Nobody holds this name: the name has expired.Subnames are locked: the name is held in the Name Wrapper, and the permission to create subnames was switched off for good (a burnt fuse), as its Fuses section shows.
If the label you typed is taken, you see <label>.<name> is already registered.
I set up a registry, but the overview still says "None set".
The overview row may take a while to catch up. The Registry section is the one to trust: if it shows the name's own registry, it worked.
Why does the Subnames section say Invalid subregistry?
The Subnames section shows Invalid subregistry when the address set for the name's subnames is not an ENS registry, so there are no subnames to show. A wallet with the name's Set Subregistry role sees Change subregistry, which opens the Registry section, where you can set up or choose a valid registry. Any other wallet sees You do not have permission to change it.
Can I add subnames to an ENSv1 name in its grace period?
No. You see This name is in its grace period and a Go to ownership button: renew the name first. Once its grace period has ended, nobody holds the name until someone registers it again, so no subnames can be added.
Why is the bin icon greyed out?
A greyed-out bin icon means ENS Explorer cannot delete that subname from here. Hover over the icon to see why:
It has subnames of its own. Delete those first.Its owner has full control of it, so only they can delete it.Connect the wallet that holds the subname to delete it.It's locked, so it can't be deleted.Its label isn't known yet, so it can't be deleted here.Open the subname's own page once in this browser, by its full name, then go back to the parent's Subnames section.This is a V1 subname, and it isn't part of this name on V2.An ENSv1 subname left from before the name was registered again on ENSv2; it stays listed.
Do subnames cost anything?
Only gas, not an ENS fee, though a project issuing subnames under its own name may charge its own. See What is a subname? for more.
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?