diff --git a/ndnx/ndnx-name.h b/ndnx/ndnx-name.h
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/ndnx/ndnx-name.h
@@ -0,0 +1,173 @@
+/* -*- Mode: C++; c-file-style: "gnu"; indent-tabs-mode:nil -*- */
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2012-2013 University of California, Los Angeles
+ *
+ * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation;
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+ * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
+ *
+ * Author: Zhenkai Zhu <zhenkai@cs.ucla.edu>
+ *	   Alexander Afanasyev <alexander.afanasyev@ucla.edu>
+ */
+
+#ifndef NDNX_NAME_H
+#define NDNX_NAME_H
+#include <boost/shared_ptr.hpp>
+#include "ndnx-common.h"
+#include "ndnx-charbuf.h"
+
+namespace Ndnx {
+
+struct NameException:
+    virtual boost::exception, virtual std::exception {};
+
+class Name
+{
+public:
+  Name();
+  Name(const std::string &name);
+  Name(const std::vector<Bytes> &comps);
+  Name(const Name &other);
+  Name(const unsigned char *data, const ndn_indexbuf *comps);
+  Name (const void *buf, const size_t length);
+  Name (const NdnxCharbuf &buf);
+  Name (const ndn_charbuf *buf);
+  virtual ~Name() {}
+
+  NdnxCharbufPtr
+  toNdnxCharbuf() const;
+
+  NdnxCharbuf*
+  toNdnxCharbufRaw () const;
+
+  operator NdnxCharbufPtr () const { return toNdnxCharbuf (); }
+
+  Name &
+  appendComp(const Name &comp);
+
+  Name &
+  appendComp(const Bytes &comp);
+
+  Name &
+  appendComp(const std::string &compStr);
+
+  Name &
+  appendComp(const void *buf, size_t size);
+
+  /**
+   * Append int component
+   *
+   * Difference between this and appendComp call is that data is appended in network order
+   *
+   * Also, this function honors naming convention (%00 prefix is added)
+   */
+  Name &
+  appendComp(uint64_t number);
+
+  template<class T>
+  Name &
+  operator ()(const T &comp) { return appendComp (comp); }
+
+  Name &
+  operator ()(const void *buf, size_t size) { return appendComp (buf, size); }
+
+  int
+  size() const {return m_comps.size();}
+
+  const Bytes &
+  getComp (int index) const;
+
+  inline const Bytes &
+  getCompFromBack (int index) const;
+
+  // return std::string format of the comp
+  // if all characters are printable, simply returns the string
+  // if not, print the bytes in hex string format
+  std::string
+  getCompAsString(int index) const;
+
+  uint64_t
+  getCompAsInt (int index) const;
+
+  inline std::string
+  getCompFromBackAsString(int index) const;
+
+  inline uint64_t
+  getCompFromBackAsInt (int index) const;
+
+  Name
+  getPartialName(int start, int n = -1) const;
+
+  inline Name
+  getPartialNameFromBack(int start, int n = -1) const;
+
+  std::string
+  toString() const;
+
+  Name &
+  operator=(const Name &other);
+
+  bool
+  operator==(const std::string &str) const;
+
+  bool
+  operator!=(const std::string &str) const;
+
+  friend Name
+  operator+(const Name &n1, const Name &n2);
+
+private:
+  std::vector<Bytes> m_comps;
+};
+
+typedef boost::shared_ptr<Name> NamePtr;
+
+std::ostream&
+operator <<(std::ostream &os, const Name &name);
+
+bool
+operator ==(const Name &n1, const Name &n2);
+
+bool
+operator !=(const Name &n1, const Name &n2);
+
+bool
+operator <(const Name &n1, const Name &n2);
+
+
+std::string
+Name::getCompFromBackAsString(int index) const
+{
+  return getCompAsString (m_comps.size () - 1 - index);
+}
+
+uint64_t
+Name::getCompFromBackAsInt (int index) const
+{
+  return getCompAsInt (m_comps.size () - 1 - index);
+}
+
+Name
+Name::getPartialNameFromBack(int start, int n/* = -1*/) const
+{
+  return getPartialName (m_comps.size () - 1 - start, n);
+}
+
+const Bytes &
+Name::getCompFromBack (int index) const
+{
+  return getComp (m_comps.size () - 1 - index);
+}
+
+
+} // Ndnx
+#endif