How does it work?
- We maintain a few large dictionaries (in both English and Latin) as well as a Thesaurus. We’ve also done some analysis of popular domain names and determined how they are derived from common words. A lot of computation later, our domain name generator can produce suggestions for domain names which are free.
Why are most of your suggestions useless?
- We provide whatever suggestions the algorithm comes up with. Computers aren’t very good at marketing, humans are far better. What humans aren’t very good at is doing repetitive tasks fast. It would be easy enough for you to come up with a list of great domain names, and I bet you’ve already tried this and found none are free. Instead, we provide you with a list of free domain names, and you get to pick which ones are great.
How about suggesting domains other than those ending .com?
- We currently only suggest .com domain names because those are the most popular. As of Q4 2009, there are about 100 million registered. Even if you are a business based outside the US, you probably want to make sure the .com relating to your business is free, or at least not owned by a competitor, or you may have their lawyers writing to you. So .com is the most useful top-level domain to check. Saying that, we’re looking at how to handle other top-level domains.
How come one of the names you suggested is actually already registered?
- We’re about 99% accurate, but we make the odd error. The domain might have been registered just recently, or occasionally our algorithm to detect whether a domain is registered or not may fail – sorry. Also, we list a small number of domains which are already registered, but are for sale. These are in bold, so you can ignore them if you want.
I’ve found a great name here. Can I use it now?
- Up to you really, but I’d do a couple of things before-hand. First, you’ll want to check no-one else is using it, particularly with a similar product. I’d type it into Google, and do a trademarks search in your local jurisdiction and elsewhere. You can do a free search at the US trademarks office here. You might want to do a more thorough search, using a professional trademark search agent. Second, you will want to register your domain name, and possibly register it in other top-level domains too. Third, you may want to protect your business name, which will mean talking to an intellectual property professional (normally a trademark agent or a lawyer). Note that just because a domain name is not registered, that does not mean that no-one has rights over it.
This service appears to be free. How do you make money?
- We don’t at the moment. We’re thinking about that. We should probably put some ads up or something.
Who are you?
- synym.com is privately held, by a company controlled by Alex Bligh.
How come one of the names you suggested is actually already registered?
- We’re about 99% accurate, but we make the odd error. The domain might have been registered just recently, or occasionally our algorithm to detect whether a domain is registered or not may fail. Sorry. Also, note we list a few domains that are for sale (we’ve got to make money somehow).
What are the domain names listed in bold?
- The domain names listed in bold are for sale. They’ve been advertised here by their owner. If you want to buy them, click on the link, and the following page will give you a link to their site.
How do I list my own domain names that are for sale?
- Use the link at the top right of the screen to register, then a new menu called “My Domains” will appear. Click on that, and follow the instructions.