An object-naming network infrastructure and a method of responding to queries for object names. In one embodiment, the infrastructure includes: (1) a central object name server coupled to a computer network and constituting a first hierarchical level and (2) peripheral object name servers coupled to the computer network and constituting a second hierarchical level, the central object name server responding to an object name query received from a querying system by directing the querying system to query instead one of the peripheral object name servers in the second hierarchical level, the one of the peripheral object name servers either responding to the query with an object name or directing the querying system to query instead further peripheral object name servers constituting a third hierarchical level.