.end

Is .end a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?

Nobody has applied for .end in its own right, as of 8 October 2026. Identity Digital named .end as a backup string for six of its applications: .clean, .artist, .transport, .retail, .mail and .collection. ICANN deactivated those backups, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. Link Freedom Group named .end as a backup string for its .way application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.

Culture · on the record since Aug 15, 2026, updated Oct 8, 2026
applicants
0 applications · 7 deactivated backups

Nobody has applied for .end in its own right.

backups
  • Link Freedom GroupDeactivated backuplfg.link ↗Aug 13, 2026

    In LFG's published list of 300+ strings submitted before the ICANN window closed on 2026-08-12. Their catalog tagline: “Where journeys end and stories begin.”

    announced Aug 13, 2026 · abandoned Oct 7, 2026 · named as a backup for .way, deactivated by ICANN Oct 7, 2026

    Deactivated backup for .wayGenericICANN LFGL2683T-T10634Link Freedom Group ↗
  • Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .collection application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup

    Deactivated backup for .collectionGenericICANN MH2645T-T12650ICANN ↗
  • Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .mail application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup

    Deactivated backup for .mailGenericICANN MH2645T-T20569ICANN ↗
  • Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .retail application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup

    Deactivated backup for .retailGenericICANN MH2645T-T28488ICANN ↗
  • Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .transport application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup

    Deactivated backup for .transportGenericICANN MH2645T-T36407ICANN ↗
  • Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .artist application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup

    Deactivated backup for .artistGenericICANN MH2645T-T78893ICANN ↗
  • Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .clean application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup

    Deactivated backup for .cleanGenericICANN MH2645T-T94731ICANN ↗

Will names sell?

◈AI score
26/ 100
Vanity and narrow

A wordplay domain: gems like week.end or fri.end are fun, but few serious projects would make .end their main web address.

assessed by claude-fable-5 · Aug 15, 2026

Last round the AI scored the 2012 strings blind to their fate. Strings it scored 60 or more hold a median 27,168 names today; those under 30, a median of 30. .end’s closest 2012 strings hold .final 1 and .zero 2.

AI score 26 of 100. .com scores 96, .ai scores 84.

For comparison, .com scores 96 and .ai scores 84 on the same rubric.

How the AI’s blind 2012 read held up: its score of each 2012 string against the names it holds today808 2012-round TLDs. Scored 60 or more: median 27168 names. Scored under 30: median 30 names. .end's closest 2012 strings: .final scored 10, 1 names; .zero scored 25, 2 names.101001K10K100K1M020406080100scored 60+: median 27Kunder 30: median 30.final · 10 · 1.zero · 25 · 2the AI’s blind 2012 score of each string (its own scale) →names held today (log) →

a 2012-round TLD.end’s closest 2012 strings: score · names

The 2012 read is a separate, time-locked score on its own scale, so .end’s score above is not placed on it. Names: the registries’ reports to ICANN, 2026-10. Non-brand 2012 TLDs in the root.

closest 2012 strings
3 of 1,408

The nearest 2012 strings, and how many names each holds today

The closest 2012 string, .final, held 1 names, June 2026. .zero held 2. Chosen by AI from every string in the 2012 round, without being told what happened to any of them.

  1. .finalstrong parallel1 names, June 2026live since 2015 · uncontested in 2012 · scored 10* in 2012 · Núcleo de Informação e Coordenação do Ponto BR - NIC.brSee .final in Stats

    Same bet: a bare monosyllabic abstract English concept-word with no industry that owns it, so its value rests entirely on wordplay/right-of-dot phrasing and generic-concept branding rather than on any identifiable class of primary registrant.

  2. .finishmoderatenever delegated · uncontested in 2012 · scored 15* in 2012

    Also a completion word doing double duty as noun and verb, sold on evocative phrasing rather than category membership, though it leans slightly harder on a recognizable use-case (races, coatings) than the fully abstract .end does.

  3. .zeromoderate2 names, June 2026live since 2015 · uncontested in 2012 · scored 25* in 2012 · Amazon EU S.à r.l.See .zero in Stats

    Another short, ownerless absolute-concept word whose registrant base is speculative and phrase-driven — nobody's profession, product category, or community is named by it, so it must manufacture demand from meaning alone.

Names are from the registries’ monthly reports to ICANN. Each name opens the TLD’s stats page: how it grew, who sells it, and the 2026 strings compared with it. * A separate 2012-only read, time-locked to what was public that year, on a different scale from this page’s score.

who it’s for

wordplay and brand-hack buyers chasing strings like week.end, leg.end, fri.end, back.end or front.end, plus lifestyle and travel storytellers drawn to the 'where journeys end' framing

What a .end domain is

.end is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our Culture category. Nobody has applied for .end in its own right. It is named on ICANN’s list as part of an application for another string.

Is the .end domain extension real yet?

.end is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. Nobody has applied for it on the public record; the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round is the process that would decide whether it becomes one.

When can you buy a .end domain?

You can’t yet. A .end name can only be registered once the string is delegated (added to the DNS root) and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .end was .final, delegated on 26 September 2015.

Is .end a real TLD?

Not yet. .end is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because ICANN’s list names .end as part of an application for another string. Every entry on this page links to its source.

Considering a name on .end?Appraise a name on this TLD →

This record is corrected in the open. See the changelog and methodology.