Definitions for "CNAME record"
A type of record stored in a DNS server. A CNAME record maps a domain name alias to a domain name.
See DNS record types, CNAME record.
CNAME is an abbreviation for "Canonical Name." A CNAME is simply an alias for a host, so CNAMEs allow you to have more than one DNS name for a host. CNAME records point back to the A record. So if you change your IP address in your A record, all your CNAME records will automatically follow the new IP of the A record. The alternative solution is to have multiple A records, but then you would have multiple places to change the IP address which increases the chances of error. Using CNAMEs is just more efficient.