命名空间（英语：Namespace）表示标识符（identifier）的可见范围。一个标识符可在多个命名空间中定义，它在不同命名空间中的含义是互不相干的。这样，在一个新的命名空间中可定义任何标识符，它们不会与任何已有的标识符发生冲突，因为已有的定义都处于其他命名空间中。

例如，设Bill是X公司的员工，工号为123，而John是Y公司的员工，工号也是123。由于两人在不同的公司工作，可以使用相同的工号来标识而不会造成混乱，这里每个公司就表示一个独立的命名空间。如果两人在同一家公司工作，其工号就不能相同了，否则在支付工资时便会发生混乱。

In computing, a namespace is a set of symbols that are used to organize objects of various kinds, so that these objects may be referred to by name. Prominent examples include:

Namespaces are commonly structured as hierarchies to allow reuse of names in different contexts. As an analogy, consider a system of naming of people where each person has a proper name, as well as a family name shared with their relatives. If, in each family, the names of family members are unique, then each person can be uniquely identified by the combination of first name and family name; there is only one Jane Doe, though there may be many Janes. Within the namespace of the Doe family, just "Jane" suffices to unambiguously designate this person, while within the "global" namespace of all people, the full name must be used.