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The Unofficial Name RegistryAI business name generatorVol. I — No. 274 ● Domain desk open

§ T.1Tools · Domain check

Is the domain still there?

Type a name and see whether the .com, .io, .co and .ai are open, straight from the registry where one answers. Then try the usual workarounds if the plain name is gone.

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Form / T.1

Check a name

Try

№ 0000 · Nothing on file

Type a name above. The four endings are looked up as soon as you stop typing.

§ T.1.1How it works

Three steps, no sign-up.

  1. Step 01

    Type the name

    Any business name, spaces and ampersands included. We turn it into the address a registrar would use: Northwind & Co becomes northwindandco.

  2. Step 02

    Read the four

    Each ending is looked up as you stop typing. Open means nobody appears to hold it. Struck through means somebody does. A question mark means the lookup could not tell, so retry or ask the registrar.

  3. Step 03

    Try the variants

    If the .com is gone, check getname, namehq, nameapp, tryname and nameco, one at a time or all at once. An open one links straight to a registrar search.

§ T.1.2Inquiries

Fair questions.

Q.01How is availability checked?
Where a registry publishes its records, we ask it directly (RDAP). Where it does not, we fall back to a DNS lookup. A name that answers is taken. A name that does not looks open, which is very likely right but not a guarantee, so confirm at the registrar before you pay.
Q.02Why does a domain show as open when I cannot register it?
Some names are reserved, held by a registry, or on a premium list at a much higher price. A DNS or RDAP lookup cannot see that. The registrar's own search is the final check, which is why open results link to one.
Q.03Which endings matter?
.com is still what most people type by default. .io and .ai read as technology, .co as a short .com. If a startup name is only free on a less common ending, consider whether customers will mistype it before you commit.
Q.04Is a free domain the same as a clear name?
No. A domain only secures an address. It says nothing about whether the name infringes someone's trademark. Run the trademark search before you register or print anything.

§ .3Related tools

Keep going.

Names are decided in a few small checks, not one big one.