.hero
Is .hero a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.hero is not contested. One application for it is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 7 October 2026. It is Endpoint Domains. XYZ Registry named .hero as a backup string for its .con application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. Intercap named .hero as a backup string for its .wiz application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. ShortDot named .hero as a backup string for its .ask application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A niche TLD for brand-builders and marketers who already use "hero" in a product or campaign name (fintech, gaming, employee-recognition, fundraising), plus bargain registrants chasing a memorable word.
Who is applying, and how much each already runs
Three of the 4 are tied to a registry that runs TLDs today. XYZ Registry, Intercap and ShortDot filed 250 applications between them across the round.
The nearest 2012 strings, and how many names each holds today
The closest 2012 string, .guru, held 60,916 names, June 2026. .ninja held 25,488; .expert held 28,534. Chosen by AI from every string in the 2012 round, without being told what happened to any of them.
Same bet: an open, flattering persona noun with no category to anchor it, sold to individuals and small operators who want to self-declare status on their own name rather than describe a line of business.
Same bet: informal aspirational-identity slang whose whole value is the ego/marketing flourish it lends to a personal or campaign site, dependent on the word staying culturally fashionable rather than on any registrant pool defined by industry.
Also a person-label rather than a category or company, so it plays for the same self-designation buyer, but it is a sober competence claim tied to professional-services directories where .hero is emotive branding with no occupational filter.
brand-builders and marketers who already use "hero" in a product or campaign name (fintech, gaming, employee-recognition, fundraising), plus bargain registrants chasing a memorable word
What a .hero domain is
.hero is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our Brand category. One application for it is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .hero domain extension real yet?
.hero is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .hero domain?
You can’t yet. A .hero 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 .hero was .guru, delegated on 6 November 2013.
Is .hero a real TLD?
Not yet. .hero is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .hero is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
The source’s 4 linesHide the lines
EDI2665T-T28371 · Endpoint Domains, Inc. · primary IRI2679T-T96997 · Intercap Registry Inc. · replacement string of .wiz · Deactivated NA2626T-T63059 · ShortDot (Ireland) Limited · replacement string of .ask · Deactivated XL2625T-T48604 · XYZ.COM LLC · replacement string of .con · Deactivated
“ShortDot (Ireland) Limited has submitted 40 applications to ICANN's 2026 New gTLD Program. The 80 strings shown include applied-for and designated replacement strings across ShortDot's 40 ICANN applications, presented without revealing their status or pairing.”ShortDot (Ireland) Limited
- Band chosen: 30-49 (usable but limited). .hero is a positive, globally understood English word with genuine brandable uses — many companies style themselves "X Hero", and marketing or fundraising campaigns lean on the word — so it is above the vanity band: some serious projects could plausibly pick a .hero name as a primary identity without it reading as a joke. It is not in the 50-69 band because no category (games, fintech, HR software, charity) would adopt it as a default; every registration needs explaining, and by analogy to other positive-word generic TLDs (.win, .vip, .fun — analogy, no figures asserted) such strings have tended to gather volume on price promotions rather than build an aftermarket or a credibility signal. The recorded operator profile (registry behind .icu, .cyou, .bond, .cfd, .sbs) suggests, again by analogy to that portfolio, a volume-and-price positioning, which would raise registration counts but keep brand strength and resale thin. Main market uncertainty: whether .hero is positioned as a low-cost volume string (likely dilution of the namespace by throwaway registrations) or as a curated brandable, and whether any recognizable company adopts a .hero domain as its primary identity within five years — the difference could move this a band in either direction.