Distinguished names are the standard form of naming.
A distinguished name is comprised of one or more relative distinguished names, and each relative distinguished name is comprised of one or more attribute-value assertions. Distinguished names were intended to identify entities in the X.500 directory tree. A relative distinguished name is the path from one node to a subordinate node. The entire distinguished name traverses a path from the root of the tree to an end node that represents a particular entity. The MHS and Internet mail protocols are different but based on similar underlying architectural models.