CNAM Database Providers: Which One Feeds Your Caller ID

CNAM databases like TransUnion and TNS hold the name; Hiya, TNS, and First Orion label the call. Here is who runs each layer and why it varies by phone.

Your caller ID name lives in several competing databases. Each is run by a different provider, and every carrier dips a different one when your call arrives. So the name a prospect sees depends on the database their carrier subscribes to.

That single fact explains the most confusing symptom in outbound dialing. The same number shows a correct name on one phone and Wireless Caller on the next.

TL;DR

Caller ID name is not reliably delivered with the call. Your PBX can put a display name in the SIP INVITE, and some carriers honor it, but on the dominant US mobile path the terminating carrier ignores it and runs a real time lookup called a CNAM dip LIDB, CNAM and the alphabet soup. It queries whichever CNAM database it subscribes to, and no single national database sits behind that lookup.

Directory providers such as TransUnion (Neustar) and TNS each keep their own copy of name records, and those copies do not always agree. On top of that, a separate analytics layer, Hiya, TNS, and First Orion, decides per carrier whether the call gets a label or branding. A correct directory record is necessary but not sufficient, so display is a two layer exercise, not a one and done fix.

Key Takeaways

CNAM is the caller ID name a terminating carrier looks up, and no single database holds a universal copy of it.
Directory providers such as TransUnion (Neustar) and TNS hold the name records carriers dip.
A name written to one directory can still show blank or Wireless Caller on a carrier whose database has not received it.
The analytics layer is carrier specific, with TNS labeling for Verizon, First Orion for T-Mobile, and Hiya for AT&T.
The fix is to get the directory record right first, then enroll with the analytics layer, then verify each layer on its own: dips for the directory, and test calls to handsets on each carrier for labels and branding.

Who actually runs the CNAM databases carriers read?

No government or single utility runs caller ID name. A handful of commercial providers each operate their own CNAM database descended from LIDB, and carriers buy dip access from one or more of them Bandwidth, CNAM caller ID.

The providers fall into two layers. The first is the directory layer, the companies that physically store and serve caller name records. Neustar, now a TransUnion company, and TNS both sit in this layer, and in 2022 the two joined First Orion and Hiya in a shared framework for vetting business callers before their names display TNS, joint enterprise call partnership.

The second layer is the analytics partners, First Orion, Hiya, and TNS, which sits in both layers because it is also Verizon's analytics engine. Carriers tap these to identify a number and tell the recipient who is calling Hiya, national caller ID database.

Why does my name show correctly on one carrier and not another?

Each major carrier sources caller ID name from a different provider, and records can disagree. Twilio's documentation notes there is no single source of truth, so CNAM results vary by which database a carrier queries Twilio, brand your calls using CNAM.

The carrier to provider map is well established. Hiya's own registration guide spells it out: Hiya is the analytics engine for AT&T, TNS for Verizon, and First Orion for T-Mobile Hiya, Free Caller Registry. That map governs the analytics and branded display layer, not the directory name itself. The directory record is what the terminating carrier dips, and it propagates from the number owning carrier or an aggregator.

What is the difference between a directory provider and an analytics partner?

A directory provider stores and serves the name string. An analytics partner scores the number and can override the name with a Spam Likely label. First Orion and Hiya began as analytics vendors, then added branded caller ID. Neustar sits closer to directory data, while TNS runs both a directory and Verizon's analytics. All four now vet business callers under one shared framework TNS, joint enterprise call partnership.

This distinction explains a common dead end. An agency that registers a clean name, then still gets flagged, has fixed only the directory layer. The analytics layer is separate, and a reputation label sits on top of the directory name. First Orion notes that a large share of consumers simply ignore unknown numbers, which makes this display layer the most consequential part of the stack First Orion, INFORM.

How does DNC enforcement data relate to CNAM provider choice?

The Federal Trade Commission publishes the National Do Not Call Registry Data Book each year. Its complaint figures show how much of outbound dialing is already regulated scrutiny, the context every agency dialer lives inside FTC, National Do Not Call Registry Data Book FY2024. Those figures are background only. They measure consent-list complaints and say nothing about caller names, so DNC data does not tell you which CNAM provider to use. Clean CNAM is not a substitute for scrubbing and consent, and scrubbing does not fix a wrong name.

Provider choice is a caller ID question, not a DNC one. A number that shows Wireless Caller on half the phones reads to the prospect as an unknown caller. The fix is two separate actions: write the directory record once through your voice provider or an aggregator, then enroll the number with the analytics layer. Neither guarantees consistent display, so verify each layer afterward.

What does it take to register across every CNAM database?

There is no single form that hits every provider at once, which is the friction most agencies miss. Submission is a two step exercise. First, write the directory record, either through your voice provider or through an aggregator such as Bandwidth Bandwidth, CNAM caller ID. Second, for wireless display, enroll the same numbers with the analytics layer, which has its own single intake called the Free Caller Registry Hiya, Free Caller Registry.

The directory record is written once and propagates from there, while the analytics enrollment is what varies by carrier. For the submission mechanics, see our CNAM registration guide, and for what a correct record should say, see what a VoIP CNAM record is.

Why is provider coverage only part of the deliverability picture?

A name is one layer in a taller stack. The LIDB directory, STIR/SHAKEN attestation, and the analytics verdict all feed the same screen, and each has its own owner and refresh cycle. We mapped that stack in our LIDB versus CNAM walkthrough. A number can have a perfect name and still get blocked if its attestation or behavior is weak.

Coverage matters because it removes one variable. When the name is consistent everywhere, you can diagnose a remaining flag as attestation or behavior, not a phantom CNAM gap. Multi provider registration is not the whole fix, but it makes the other layers visible.

Sources cited in this analysis?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is there no single national CNAM database?

The caller ID name network evolved as a collection of commercial databases built on LIDB, not one government utility. Multiple directory providers, such as TransUnion (Neustar) and TNS, each keep a copy, so carriers subscribe to different databases and results diverge from phone to phone.

Which CNAM database provider does each carrier use?

The directory name comes from whichever CNAM database a carrier subscribes to. What is public is the analytics map, which governs labels and branding rather than the name itself: TNS with Verizon, First Orion with T-Mobile, and Hiya with AT&T.

Does registering with one provider cover all carriers?

Not by itself. The directory record propagates from the number owning carrier or the aggregator that wrote it, and that governs the basic name carriers dip. The analytics and branded display layer is separate, and it is where carrier specific enrollment decides what each wireless network shows beyond the directory name.

Is branded calling the same as CNAM registration?

Not exactly. Branded calling is a richer layer from analytics partners like First Orion and Hiya that sits on the directory name. Basic CNAM is the underlying name record carriers dip. Most agencies secure the directory name first, then layer branding on high volume lines.

How do I verify my name actually displays across carriers?

Verify each layer on its own, after the full propagation window. Dip checks through a CNAM aggregator or your voice provider portal show what the directory returns, but not labels or branding. For those, place test calls to handsets on AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile and read what each screen shows.