How the domain name generator builds ideas
The generator takes one to three keywords and turns them into names that fit in a web address: lowercase letters and digits, with hyphens only if you ask for them. Every idea is then paired with each ending you picked, so one name becomes pixelforge.com, pixelforge.net and so on. All of this happens in your browser with word lists we wrote for this tool.
- Keywords: your words as they are, and joined together, like pixelforge. These come first in the default order.
- Prefix: a short word in front, like meetharbor, hiharbor, heyharbor.
- Suffix: a word or ending after it, like harborco, harborery, harborista. Spelling rules apply at the joint, so a keyword that ends in a vowel loses it before an ending like -ify.
- Compound: two keywords the other way round or joined with "and", like forgeandpixel.
- Short form: a dropped vowel, a clipped first syllable with an ending, a blend of two keywords or their initials with a plain word. With green and cloud you get ideas like gclabs, gcapp, gcstudio.
With hyphens on, many ideas also come with a hyphen at the joint, like harbr-hq and harbr-app. The plain forms stay ahead of the hyphenated ones. Under Length, hyphens and methods you can set the longest name you want, turn methods off and sort the list by length or from A to Z. The list is the same every time for the same keywords and settings, so a link to it shows the same ideas on any device.
What the availability check does
Each domain ending is run by a registry, and most registries now answer questions about their domains through RDAP, the Registration Data Access Protocol. IANA publishes a bootstrap file with the RDAP server of each ending that has registered one; when we built this tool, it listed 1,203 of the 1,437 top-level domains in IANA's list. When you press Check availability, the page sends the domain names to our server, 10 at a time. For each name, our server takes the registry's RDAP server from that list and asks it about the domain.
The answer is read the way the RDAP standard defines it. When a server has no data for a query, RFC 7480 says it returns HTTP 404 (Not Found). The tool shows that as "No registration found". A normal answer with a domain record means the name is registered. When a registry answers 429 (Too Many Requests), the RDAP rules ask the client to slow down, so the tool marks the name as busy and leaves that registry alone for a while. Answers are kept on our server for an hour, so checking the same name again soon does not ask the registry twice.
| Result | What it means |
|---|---|
| No registration found | The registry's RDAP server answered 404: it has no record of the name. Worth a look at a registrar. |
| Registered | The registry has a record, so someone holds the name. Look up shows the registrar and the expiry date. |
| No RDAP | The ending has no RDAP server in IANA's list. Use Look up for a WHOIS check of that one domain. |
| Busy | A limit was reached, ours or the registry's. Try again in a few minutes. |
| Check failed | The registry did not answer in time or sent something unexpected. Try again later. |
Why "no registration found" is not a guarantee
A missing record is a good sign, not a promise. ICANN explains that every registry agreement requires the registry to exclude certain names from registration, and that some registries may withhold names that are not in use and release them later at their own discretion. Such a name can have no registration record and still not be for sale. Registries can also mark names as premium. Google Registry, for example, defines premium domains as names with a yearly fee above the standard fee. And a name that was free a minute ago can be registered by someone else before you get to it.
So treat the check as a filter for your shortlist. Before you build anything on a name, search for it at a registrar, which shows whether you can register it and what the first year and the renewals cost. Check the name as a trademark too; the business name generator links to the official trademark searches.
Endings without RDAP
Not every registry runs an RDAP server. When we built this tool, IANA's bootstrap list had no RDAP server for .io, .co, .me and .de, so the tool marks those rows as No RDAP instead of guessing. Every row has a Look up link that opens our WHOIS lookup, which falls back to the registry's classic WHOIS server for one domain at a time and also shows the registrar, the creation date and the expiry date of a registered name. Names under .uk and .co.uk are both checked at the RDAP server of the .uk registry.
Picking a domain from the list
Star the names you like and say each one out loud. A domain you have to spell out on the phone ("with a hyphen, and pixel without the e") is harder to share than one you can just say. Domain labels allow up to 63 characters of letters, digits and hyphens, but shorter ones are easier to type on a phone. Read the name without spaces too, since some joints split into unlucky words. Once you have a name, the DNS lookup helps you check the records after you set it up.
How to use the domain name generator
- 1Type one to three keywords and pick the endings you want, like .com, .net or .app.
- 2Set the longest name, hyphens and methods if you need to, and star the domains you like.
- 3Press Check availability to ask the registries about the domains shown, or Check on a single row.
- 4Open Look up for details on a name, then confirm the price and availability at a registrar before you decide.
Frequently asked questions
Does "No registration found" mean I can buy the domain?
Not for sure. It means the registry's RDAP server had no record of the name when we asked. A registry can reserve a name or sell it as a premium name at a higher price, and someone can register it a minute after our check. The registrar you buy from has the final word on whether you can register a name and what it costs.
What is sent to your server?
Only the domain names being checked, and only when you press Check availability or Check on a row. Your keywords, filters and favorites stay in your browser. Our server asks the registry of each ending and keeps each answer for an hour so repeat checks are fast. For the rate limit it counts requests per salted hash of your IP address. It keeps no log of checks, apart from our host's normal access logs.
Why can some endings not be checked here?
The tool asks only registries that list an RDAP server in the bootstrap file IANA publishes. When we built the tool, that list had no RDAP server for .io, .co, .me and .de. For those, the Look up link opens our WHOIS lookup, which falls back to the registry's classic WHOIS server for one domain at a time.
Why is there a limit on checks?
Some RDAP servers limit how often anyone may ask them, and the RDAP rules allow them to be stricter with clients that ignore those limits. So each request checks at most 10 names, and each visitor can send 10 requests in 10 minutes and 30 in an hour. Names checked in the last hour come from our cache and do not count. When a registry says it is busy, we leave it alone for a while.
Do I get the same ideas every time?
Yes. The ideas are built from your keywords with fixed word lists and a seeded order, so the same keywords and settings always give the same list, in the same order. The link from Copy link brings back the same list on another device.
Does the tool link to registrars?
No. The tool itself has no registrar links and gets nothing for a sale. Look up opens our own WHOIS lookup. If a box marked Sponsored appears below the tool, it is an ad and is labeled as one.