Today, we are sharing a milestone that feels both exciting and deeply meaningful to us.
ShortDot (Ireland) Limited, the applicant entity within the ShortDot group, has submitted 40 applications to ICANN’s 2026 New gTLD Program. Collectively, the applications contain 40 primary applied-for strings and 40 designated replacement strings.
We are proud to be here, grateful to everyone who helped us get here, and ready to take responsibility for the work ahead.
ShortDot was not part of ICANN’s first new gTLD application round in 2012.
We began our registry journey in 2018 with .icu, one extension and a great deal to learn.
Over the years, we grew our portfolio to include .bond, .cyou, .cfd, and .sbs. Along the way, we learned how much patience, care, and collaboration it takes to turn a domain extension into something people understand, trust, and continue to use.
Today, ShortDot manages more than 4 million domains and works with over 400 ICANN-Accredited registrar partners worldwide. Our registry services also include .buzz and .qpon, and we have recently been entrusted with managing and growing .lk and .hiphop.
Those numbers matter to us, but what they represent matters even more.
They represent registrar relationships built over time. Businesses and creators choosing to build on our extensions. Registrants renewing their names year after year. Partners trusting us with namespaces that matter to them.
.SHORT.CLEAR.OPEN.SHORT
Why short?
Strong names do not need to be complicated.
We have always been drawn to names that are short, generic, and meaningful.
Short names are easier to say, type, remember, and share. Generic names have the flexibility to serve different industries, communities, and ideas. Meaningful names give people an immediate sense of what they could build.
Every string in the ShortDot 80 is only three or four letters long.
We looked for words and abbreviations that feel familiar enough to understand, memorable enough to stay with you, and broad enough to grow in directions we cannot yet imagine.
Some relate to technology and artificial intelligence. Some express action, identity, or ambition. Others come from language, culture, lifestyle and the way people already communicate online.
One complete portfolio.
40 applications.80 proposed strings.
One complete portfolio.
ICANN’s 2026 New gTLD Program allows an applicant to designate one replacement string alongside the applied-for string in each application.
ShortDot included a designated replacement string in each of its 40 applications.
We are sharing all 80 proposed strings as a single complete portfolio.
The ShortDot 80
Many of these strings could comfortably belong in more than one category. The groupings below are simply a way to explore the portfolio, not a limit on what any string could become.
AI & Technology
13 short names for intelligence, infrastructure, and the systems powering the digital world.
Could this become a name that people remember and genuinely want to use?
From there, we kept returning to five practical questions.
01
Would we remember it tomorrow?
The strongest names stay with you after you see or hear them once.
02
Can people understand it quickly?
A good extension should carry meaning without requiring a lengthy explanation.
03
Is it generic enough to grow?
We looked for names that could welcome different businesses, industries, communities, and ideas.
04
Can it travel?
The internet is global. We wanted compact names that could work across markets, audiences and use cases.
05
Are we prepared to support it for the long term?
A good application is not simply a string that looks attractive on a list. It is a namespace a registry must be prepared to operate, protect, position, and grow responsibly.
This was not a search for the longest list or the cleverest list.
It was a search for a focused portfolio of short names that we could believe in and responsibly stand behind.
Data, market research, and industry experience informed our decisions. Judgment mattered too.
Every name was discussed, questioned, and reviewed with the long term in mind.
Frequently asked questions.
ICANN’s 2026 program allows an applicant to include one designated replacement string alongside the applied-for string in an application. ShortDot used that option for all 40 applications, creating a complete proposed portfolio of 80 strings.
No. They are proposed strings included across ShortDot’s applications and remain subject to ICANN’s administrative review, evaluation, objection, contention, replacement, contracting, and delegation processes.
No. Domains under these proposed TLDs cannot currently be registered, reserved, or pre-registered through ShortDot.
No. Each application can ultimately proceed with only one confirmed string, and every application must still complete the applicable ICANN processes. Some strings may not proceed or be delegated.
There is no confirmed retail launch date. Any future launch would follow evaluation, possible contention resolution, contracting, delegation, and registrar onboarding. We will share dates only when they are official.
Get in touch
See an opportunity? Let’s talk.
ShortDot brings years of registry experience, global distribution, and a long-term approach to building namespaces.
If there’s an opportunity you think we should explore, we would be happy to hear from you.
