---
tags:
  - 🚩purpose/ℹ️documentation
  - 🏷️topic/💾software/windows/server/active-directory
---
The *Common Name* or `CN` is a property of [LDAP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweight_Directory_Access_Protocol) objects to describe their well-known, common names. Active Directory inherits this property in its schemas and relies on it for naming many different types of objects. It is the most used [Relative Distinguished Name (RDN)](https://ldap.com/ldap-dns-and-rdns/) in an AD forest. In AD nomenclature, and tools like *Active Directory Users and Computers*, it is often called the “Full Name”.

Example in ADUC:
![[Full name in ADUC.png]]

If this User object were inside the *Users* Organizational Unit (OU), the [DN](https://ldap.com/ldap-dns-and-rdns/) for it would be `CN=StudentWorker\, COS,OU=Users,DC=domain`. The CN is the RDN used to identify the object under the `Users` OU.