.hero

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

Brand
applicants
  • ShortDotIn a catalog
on the record since Sep 8, 2026 · updated Sep 8, 2026
AI score
40/ 100
Usable but limited

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.

assessed by claude-fable-5-1 · Sep 8, 2026
AI score 40 of 100. .com scores 96, .ai scores 84.
who it’s 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

BrandCultureCommercetech
applicants
1 on file
ShortDotIn a catalog

One of the 80 strings ShortDot published for the ICANN 2026 round. ShortDot states it has submitted 40 applications, but publishes the 80 strings without revealing which 40 are applications and which 40 are designated replacements. The submission claim is therefore applicant-level, not string-level: nothing in the source says ShortDot applied for THIS string. Catalogued, not announced.

closest 2012 bets
3 of 1,408

The 2012 applications making the most similar bet. Chosen by AI from every string in that round, without being told what happened to any of them.

.gurustrong parallel
delegated 2013 · live60,516 domains · May 2026

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.

uncontested · scored 32* in 2012 · run by Pioneer Cypress, LLC

.ninjastrong parallel
delegated 2013 · live25,716 domains · May 2026

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.

uncontested · scored 32* in 2012 · run by United TLD Holdco Ltd.

.expertmoderate
delegated 2014 · live28,414 domains · May 2026

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.

2 applicants contested it · scored 45* in 2012 · run by Magic Pass, LLC

* A separate 2012-only read, time-locked to what was public that year. Different scale from this page’s score, so the two are not comparable.

history
  1. ShortDot · first recordedSep 8, 2026
    ShortDot (Ireland) Limited
news & sources
CatalogShortDot's 80 strings for the ICANN 2026 round
Sep 8, 2026
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
about ShortDot
NewsShortDot applies for 40 top level domains
Sep 8, 2026
The company just disclosed its 40 applications and 40 replacement strings.
Domain Name Wire
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This record is corrected in the open. See the changelog and methodology.