Naming guides and original data
Honest, data-backed writing on naming a brand and finding a .com you can actually register: domain extension reviews, brand-name teardowns, and original research from checking real names against the live registry.
Why Figma Is a Great Brand Name (a Teardown)
Figma is a made-up word, and that is exactly why it works. A teardown of how to invent a brand name that is short, ownable, and actually has a free .com.
What Makes a Brand Name Sound Premium (and How to Get There)
Why do some names sound expensive and others sound cheap? The sound, length, and restraint behind premium-feeling brand names, and how to name yours that way.
Is a .io Domain Still Worth It for Startups? (2026)
For a decade .io was the default startup extension. Then .ai took its crown. Here is whether .io is still worth it, what it costs, and when to use it.
Why Notion Is a Great Brand Name (a Teardown)
Notion could have been called Docs or Workspace. Instead it picked an abstract real word and won. A teardown of why it works and the pattern you can copy.
Why One-Word Brand Names Win (and the Catch)
One-word brand names are easier to say, spell, and remember, which is why the best brands use them. The catch: the .coms are almost all gone. Here is the data and the workaround.
Is a .ai Domain Worth It? An Honest Cost-Benefit (2026)
A .ai domain costs several times a .com and renews high every year. Here is the honest math on when a .ai is worth it, when it is not, and what it really costs over five years.
We Asked AI for 220 Startup Names. Only 1 Had an Available .com.
We ran 220 AI-generated startup name ideas against the live .com registry. 219 were already taken. Here is the data, why it happens, and what to do instead.
Why Stripe Is a Great Brand Name (a Teardown)
Stripe broke the obvious naming rule and won. A teardown of why it works, plus the repeatable pattern behind Notion, Figma, and Vercel you can steal for your own name.
Do Hyphens Hurt a Domain? The Honest Answer (2026)
Hyphens do not directly lower Google rankings, but they quietly cost you traffic, trust, and recall. Here is when a hyphen is fine and when it sinks a brand.
.com vs .ai: Which Domain Should You Actually Use? (2026)
An honest, founder-first breakdown of .com versus .ai: trust, SEO, resale value, renewal cost, and when a .ai domain is genuinely the right call.
State of Available .com Names (2026)
We generate brand names and check each against the live .com registry. Here is the real data on how few brandable .com domains are still available, by niche and by name style.