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A '''Uniform Resource Name''' ('''URN''') is a [[:en:Uniform Resource Identifier|Uniform Resource Identifier]] (URI) that uses the ''urn'' [[:en:URI scheme|scheme]], and does not imply availability of the identified resource. Both URNs (names) and [[:en:Uniform Resource Locator|URL]]s (locators) are URIs, and a particular URI may be a name and a locator at the same time.

The Functional Requirements for Uniform Resource Names are described in RFC 1737. The URNs are part
of a larger Internet information architecture which is composed of URNs,  [[:en:Uniform Resource Characteristics|Uniform Resource Characteristics]]
(URCs), and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). Each plays a specific role:

* URNs are used for   identification, 
* URCs for including meta-information.
* URLs for locating or finding resources.  

RFC 2141 ("URN Syntax") says:

:Uniform Resource Names (URNs) are intended to serve as persistent, location-independent resource identifiers and are designed to make it easy to map other namespaces (that share the properties of URNs) into URN-space. Therefore, the URN syntax provides a means to encode character data in a form that can be sent in existing protocols, transcribed on most keyboards, etc.

==See also==

* [http://www-2.kansalliskirjasto.fi/kkcgi/urn.cgi Creating URNs for Finnish material]
* [http://www.kansalliskirjasto.fi/kirjastoala/tietolinja/0107/urn.html URN help] (in Finnish)