Mike Berkens informed us that the list of the most popular 1,000 male and 1,000 female baby names in 2009 in the US was recently released. Not too surprisingly, all 2,000 of the names in .com were registered. It was surprising to learn that Berkens’ company owns over 100 of them. Actually, on second thought, it’s not so surprising considering his stellar portfolio.
So with these 2,000 .com domain names registered, you might wonder how you can utilize this list. I have a few ideas that might help you keep an eye on some good names.
1) Using DomainTools, monitor some of the secondary domain names that might be of interest in the future. As some of the less popular .com names expire in a couple of years, you’ll know about it ASAP and can back order or buy them.
2) Buy alternate extensions like .net or .org. I know a couple of people who own their .org domain names and they love using them on cards and resumes. One is an actress and it’s great for producers to remember her name and see her credits.
3) Buy names like FranksBlog.com or StevesWebsite.com. I’d imagine these would be considered generic / defensible, and they have value. In fact, someone messaged me about the typo name I own – ElliottsBlog.com, although I have no interest in selling that name.
Many of the best first-name.com registered in 94-96 are owned by individuals who just registered their own first names. Those names would make really spectacular brands for startups; I am surprised so few startups went after those names with serious offers.
@ Jon
I think they would be very expensive to buy now, since most of the owners have a serious vested interest in them.
Having sold some premium first names like..
Jacob.com ( 11 yrs in a row top male name )
Jeremiah.com
Derek.com
Gregory.com
Marilyn.com
Laura.com
etc
I can state this, the top 100+ list was an excellent resource, however it has been cherry picked many times by many domainers and I can think of but one popular female name I could nab for $30k otherwise its a waste of time trying .com. Hitting up new popular names is an excellent idea Elliot but with market down turn etc nabbing them at a reasonable price is extremely hard, .org is a great alternative and should hold $XXXX values on the most popular ones.
@ Josh
I still think my friends at Jacob & Co. should have bought it. I kid around with him whenever I go there, but I don’t think they get it. The can sell watches, earrings, bracelets, engagement rings for 6 figs all day long. Oh well 🙂
I was able to pick up zaniyah.com for reg fee a few months back. The closest you will get to a top 1000 baby name now is an alternate spelling of the name ie catheryne.com
I agree Elliot, its the old ” they dont get it ” 🙁
That thing saw around XX,XXX uv a month!
I may offer another name soon 🙂