The name of the DNA subunit is a nucleotide. There are three parts, there is a sugar, a base, and a phosphate group. The sugar is the pentose sugar known as deoxyribose (the D in DNA). The "deoxy" just means that it is "missing" an oxygen group compared ribose. The base is what makes up the "language" of DNA. There are four possible bases, adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The phosphate and the sugar form the backbone of the DNA and are the same in every nucleotide.