Domain Name Ideas: 15 Strategies When Your First Choice Is Taken

You had the perfect domain name in mind. You typed it into a registrar, hit search, and — taken. It's a frustrating moment that every entrepreneur, developer, and creator has experienced. But here's the thing: the best brand names in the world often weren't anyone's first choice. Slack was originally going to be Searchlight. Google was BackRub. Instagram was Burbn. The domain you end up with can be even better than the one you started with. Here are 15 proven strategies to find it.

Strategy 1: Try Alternative TLDs

If yourname.com is taken, the same word might be available with a different extension. The TLD landscape has expanded dramatically, and many alternative extensions now carry real credibility.

• .io — The go-to for tech startups and developer tools. Examples: github.io, atom.io, itch.io
• .co — A clean, professional alternative. Examples: angel.co, behance.co, wix.co
• .ai — Perfect for AI and tech companies. Examples: character.ai, stability.ai, perplexity.ai. Read our full analysis of .AI domain names.
• .app — Ideal for software products. Examples: cash.app, grepper.app
• .dev — Built for developers. Examples: web.dev, opensource.dev
• .studio — Great for creative agencies and design firms.
• .design — Self-explanatory and niche-specific.

Strategy 2: Add a Prefix

Adding a short word before your brand name can open up availability while maintaining recognizability. The best prefixes feel like natural calls to action.

• get — getflow.com, getresponse.com, getbootstrap.com
• try — tryghost.com, trycelery.com
• use — usefathom.com, usebubbles.com
• go — gohugo.io, gosquared.com
• hey — hey.com (used by Basecamp's email product)
• meet — meetedgar.com, meetfrank.com
• join — joinpapa.com, joinsecret.com

The prefix "get" is particularly effective because it implies action: "Go to getflow.com" sounds natural in conversation.

Strategy 3: Add a Suffix

Suffixes work just as well as prefixes and can also communicate what your product does or how it's structured.

• app — slackapp.com, notionapp.com
• hq — groovehq.com, producthq.com
• labs — metalabs.com, airtablelabs.com
• hub — makerHub.com, designhub.com
• io — dragio.com, pullio.com (adding "io" as a suffix, not as a TLD)
• ly — bitly.com, fastly.com (this also works as a creative spelling technique)
• ify — spotify.com, shopify.com, testify.com

Strategy 4: Use Abbreviations

If your full brand name is taken, abbreviating it might reveal an available domain that's actually more memorable.

• International Business Machines → ibm.com
• Hewlett-Packard → hp.com
• Artificial Intelligence → ai (used in many brand names)
• Customer Relationship Management → crm.com
• DigitalOcean → do.co (combining abbreviation with .co TLD)

Two and three-letter .com domains are extremely valuable and almost entirely registered, but abbreviations with alternative TLDs can be highly effective.

Strategy 5: Change Spelling Creatively

Creative misspellings have produced some of the biggest brand names in tech. The key is making the spelling change feel intentional, not like a typo.

• Lyft (lift) — Swap a vowel for a consonant
• Tumblr (tumbler) — Drop a vowel
• Flickr (flicker) — Drop a vowel
• Fiverr (fiver) — Double a consonant
• Reddit (read it) — Phonetic spelling
• Digg (dig) — Double the final consonant

Strategy 6: Use Compound Words

Combining two short, evocative words is one of the most reliable naming strategies. It's how some of the world's most recognizable brands were born.

• Facebook (face + book)
• Snapchat (snap + chat)
• Mailchimp (mail + chimp)
• Salesforce (sales + force)
• WordPress (word + press)
• Coinbase (coin + base)
• Cloudflare (cloud + flare)

The trick is pairing one descriptive word (what you do) with one unexpected word (personality). "MailChimp" works because "mail" signals the product while "chimp" adds memorability and personality.

Strategy 7: Try Different Word Order

Sometimes simply swapping the words in your compound name reveals an available domain with a different feel.

• CodeShip → ShipCode
• BookStack → StackBook
• WebFlow → FlowWeb
• CloudBase → BaseCloud
• DataBox → BoxData

Reversing word order can also shift the emphasis. "CodeShip" emphasizes code; "ShipCode" emphasizes shipping. Choose the order that aligns with your primary value proposition.

Strategy 8: Use a Verb

Action-oriented domain names are powerful because they imply what your product does. They also tend to be more available than nouns.

• Zoom — implies speed and connection
• Stripe — implies a clean sweep (of payment processing)
• Notion — implies an idea taking shape
• Loom — implies weaving/creating
• Figma — derived from "figment" (something conceived)
• Vercel — derived from "accelerate"

Think about what users DO with your product and find verbs that capture that action.

Strategy 9: Create a Portmanteau

A portmanteau blends two words into one new word. This is different from compound words — the words overlap and merge rather than sitting side by side.

• Pinterest (pin + interest)
• Instagram (instant + telegram)
• Groupon (group + coupon)
• Microsoft (microcomputer + software)
• Spotify (spot + identify)
• Yelp (yellow pages + help)

Portmanteaus feel fresh and invented, which makes them highly brandable and usually available as domains. The downside is they require more marketing effort to establish meaning.

Strategy 10: Try a Different Language

Words from other languages often carry elegance, meaning, and — importantly — domain availability.

• Audi — Latin for "listen"
• Volvo — Latin for "I roll"
• Hulu — Mandarin for "holder of precious things"
• Roku — Japanese for "six" (it was the founder's sixth company)
• Ubuntu — Zulu for "humanity towards others"
• Kuro — Japanese for "black"
• Luma — Latin-derived, meaning "light"

Latin, Japanese, and Scandinavian languages are particularly popular for brand naming because they produce short, phonetically clean words that work across cultures.

Strategy 11: Use Acronyms

If your full brand name is too long for a domain, condense it to an acronym. This works especially well for companies with descriptive names.

• AWS — Amazon Web Services
• BMW — Bayerische Motoren Werke
• ASOS — As Seen On Screen
• ESPN — Entertainment and Sports Programming Network

Three and four-letter acronym .com domains are almost all taken, but combining an acronym with a TLD (.io, .co, .ai) or a descriptive suffix can work well.

Strategy 12: Drop a Vowel

This is a subset of creative spelling but deserves its own strategy because it's been so consistently successful.

• Tumblr (tumbler)
• Flickr (flicker)
• Scribd (scribed)
• Grindr (grinder)
• Pixlr (pixeler)
• Blendr (blender)

Dropping the final vowel (usually "e" or "er") creates a modern, tech-forward feel. The word remains recognizable and pronounceable, but gains a distinctive visual identity.

Strategy 13: Add an Article or Possessive

Simple articles and possessive pronouns can transform a taken domain into an available one.

• theverge.com (The Verge)
• thecut.com (The Cut)
• myspace.com (MySpace — yes, it's dated, but the technique isn't)
• theskimm.com (TheSkimm)

This strategy works best for media brands, communities, and consumer products. It feels less natural for B2B SaaS — "MyAnalyticsDashboard.com" sounds clunky.

Strategy 14: Use Industry-Specific TLDs

ICANN has approved hundreds of industry-specific TLDs that can replace descriptive words in your domain.

• .agency — For creative and marketing agencies
• .store — For e-commerce businesses
• .health — For healthcare companies
• .legal — For law firms
• .finance — For financial services
• .restaurant — For dining establishments
• .photography — For photographers
• .consulting — For consultancies

The advantage: your TLD communicates your industry, freeing your domain name to be purely brandable. "nova.agency" says more than "novaagency.com" — and it's shorter.

Strategy 15: Use AI Domain Name Generators

This is where modern tools shine. AI domain generators can combine all 14 strategies above — and more — in seconds, producing dozens of brandable, available options you might never think of on your own.

The best AI generators go beyond simple keyword combinations. They understand linguistic patterns, brand positioning, competitor naming conventions, and TLD strategy. They also check availability in real-time, so you're not falling in love with names that are already taken.

For a deep dive on short, brandable names specifically, check our guide to short domain names.

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Putting It All Together

Here's a practical workflow for finding your domain name when your first choice is unavailable:

1. Start with your core keyword or brand concept. Write down 3-5 words that capture what your brand does or represents.
2. Apply 3-4 strategies from this list. Don't try all 15 at once — pick the ones that fit your brand personality.
3. Generate 20-30 candidates. Use a mix of manual brainstorming and AI tools.
4. Check availability on all of them. Use a bulk checker to save time.
5. Narrow to 3-5 finalists. Run them by trusted colleagues. Sleep on it for a day.
6. Buy your winner. Follow our step-by-step guide to buying a domain name for the registration process.

Remember: the domain name is important, but it's not everything. A mediocre name with a great product will outperform a perfect name with a mediocre product every time. Don't let the search for the "perfect" domain delay your launch.