Find Your Name

Lately I have enjoyed sharing some recent and not-so-recent websites and tools that we have used in our business.

Now that we have looked at a reputable place to register names for $2.95 (until 2/28), here are a couple places to help you find that million-dollar domain name.

Nameboy.com.

Just type two words into nameboy.com that describe your desired name on the world-wide-web and nameboy will come back with dozens of recommendations and show you which ones are available or taken.

InstantDomainSearch.com.

Are you still entering your dream wild-wild-web domain names into a site, pressing return, and awaiting a result to see if your domain name is available? With instantdomainsearch.com the wait is over. As you type, instantdomainsearch.com lets you know if .com, .net. and .org are available or taken.

These two tools make the work of finding ideal domain names both faster and easier. They also make you realize that despite the despair of the domain deprived, it is not as bad as some think. There are good names out there.

There are names left.

Common words are all taken. Short names are all taken. But, not all descriptive phrases are and this is where nameboy.com shines. (You can take Seth’s advice and use a made up, but memorable, url. In which case no toolset is going to replace good old creativity.) At any rate, whether one wants a “real” name or made up name, nameboy and instantdomainsearch will help.

For example, going the descriptive route it just depends on how short the name need be.

If someone wanted to open a dog grooming business “thedoggroomer.com” is available.

For online restaurant reviews: “RecommendRestaurants.com”

For an online business newsletter: “MonthlyBusinessReport.com”

For a software team scheduling product:
“CodeSchedule.com”

For Ruby on Rails training: “RailsClass.com”, “RailsClasses.com”,
“RailsCourses.com”
(actually, I like those so they are off the market now)

For just about anything:
“bluezoomer.com”, “boldlightning.com”, etc. (i.e. I am not very creative, so we’ll leave the created-names to the pros).

Be aware that nameboy sometimes shows a name as available when it is in fact taken.