.wild
Is .wild a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.wild is contested: 2 applicants have said publicly that they applied to run it, as of 9 September 2026. They are ShortDot and Link Freedom Group.
A playful ending for outdoor, wildlife, and adventure brands; memorable, but few serious projects would make it their main address.
outdoor and adventure brands, wildlife and conservation organizations, travel and experience companies, and creators who want an expressive, energetic web identity
In LFG's published list of 300+ strings submitted before the ICANN window closed on 2026-08-12. Their catalog tagline: “For moments indescribable.”
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.
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.
Same bet: a short evocative English adjective with no defined vertical, sold on connotation and brandability rather than category intent, so it has to win identity buyers who choose it for the feeling it projects.
Also a one-syllable attitude adjective whose registry pitch is expressive positioning across unrelated industries, betting that the word's charge outweighs the absence of any obvious anchor customer.
An adjective that doubles as a values flag — usable both as an expressive brand modifier and as an identity marker for a cause constituency — which is the same dual bet .wild makes across adventure brands and conservation, though .green's sustainability constituency was far more organized than any 'wild' one.
What a .wild domain is
.wild is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, filed under Culture. 2 applicants have said publicly that they applied for .wild.
Is the .wild domain extension real yet?
.wild 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 .wild domain?
You can’t yet. ICANN publishes every applied-for string on Reveal Day, 7 October 2026 at 18:00 UTC. A .wild name can only be registered after that, once the string is delegated and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .wild was .cool, delegated on .
Is .wild a real TLD?
Not yet. .wild is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because an applicant said publicly that it applied for .wild in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round. Every claim on this page links to its source.
- ShortDot · now announced
- ShortDot · first recordedShortDot (Ireland) Limited
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
“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
“.wild · Culture · “For moments indescribable.””Link Freedom Group
“The company just disclosed its 40 applications and 40 replacement strings.”Domain Name Wire
“LFG voluntarily published its full list of submissions ahead of ICANN’s official Reveal Day.”PR Newswire (Link Freedom Group)
“Top level domain registry Link Freedom Group (LFG) has disclosed more than 300 strings submitted as part of the ICANN new top level domain name program.”Domain Name Wire (Andrew Allemann)
- Band chosen: 30-49 (usable but limited). The string is a common English adjective with genuine semantic pull toward a few real verticals: wildlife and conservation, outdoor and adventure travel, and expressive lifestyle branding, and 'brand.wild' or 'get.wild' style names can work as campaign or secondary identities. By analogy (flagged as analogy) with other evocative adjective and lifestyle TLDs such as .cool, .fun, and .live, this class of string tends to attract volume- and price-driven registrations plus event or campaign use, while primary-identity adoption by serious companies stays uncommon and aftermarket demand stays thin. It is not in the 50-69 band because there is no single category where .wild reads as a default primary identity; the semantic fit is real but diffuse across hobbyist, campaign, and vanity use, and adoption would need explaining everywhere. It is not in the 10-29 band because the word is broadly positive, brandable, and maps to identifiable buyer groups with recurring (not merely event-driven) registration motives, which by analogy sustains an ongoing if modest base. The applicant, Link Freedom Group, filed more than 300 strings in the ICANN 2026 round and lists this string under category 'Culture' with the tagline 'For moments indescribable.', consistent with an expressive-identity positioning rather than a vertical registry; portfolio breadth of that kind says little either way about per-string marketing investment, so I treat adoption support as unknown. Registration volumes, pricing, and premium-tier strategy for this string are unknown. Main market uncertainty over the next 5 years: whether the outdoor/wildlife semantic niche converts into visible primary-identity anchor adoptions, or whether .wild settles into campaign and vanity use like most adjective TLDs.