Domain name endings explained

[Bill]

Generic top-level domain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A generic top-level domain (gTLD) is a top-level domain used (at least in theory) by a particular class of organization. These are three or more letters long, and are named for the type of organization that they represent (for example, .com for commercial organizations). The following gTLDs currently exist (as does .arpa, which is sometimes considered a gTLD):


.aero - for the air transport industry
.asia - for companies. organisations and individuals in the Asia-Pacific region
.biz - for business use
.cat - for Catalan language/culture
.com - for commercial organizations, but unrestricted
.coop - for cooperatives
.edu - for post-secondary educational establishments
.gov - for governments and their agencies in the United States
.info - for informational sites, but unrestricted
.int - for international organizations established by treaty
.jobs - for employment-related sites
.mil - for the US military
.mobi - for sites catering to mobile devices
.museum - for museums
.name - for families and individuals
.net - originally for network infrastructures, now unrestricted
.org - originally for organizations not clearly falling within the other gTLDs, now unrestricted
.pro - for certain professions
.tel - for services involving connections between the telephone network and the Internet (added March 2, 2007)
.travel - for travel agents, airlines, hoteliers, tourism bureaus, etc.

The following gTLDs are in the process of being approved, and may be added to the root nameservers in the near future:

.post - for postal services
.geo - for geographically related sites
.cym - for Welsh language/culture

List of ccTLDs

* = Foreign registrations are permitted

.ac – Ascension Island *
.ad – Andorra
.ae – United Arab Emirates
.af – Afghanistan
.ag – Antigua and Barbuda *
.ai – Anguilla
.al – Albania
.am – Armenia *
.an – Netherlands Antilles
.ao – Angola
.aq – Antarctica
.ar – Argentina
.as – American Samoa *
.at – Austria *
.au – Australia
.aw – Aruba
.ax – Åland Islands
.az – Azerbaijan
.ba – Bosnia and Herzegovina
.bb – Barbados
.bd – Bangladesh
.be – Belgium *
.bf – Burkina Faso
.bg – Bulgaria
.bh – Bahrain
.bi – Burundi *
.bj – Benin
.bm – Bermuda
.bn – Brunei
.bo – Bolivia *
.br – Brazil *
.bs – Bahamas *
.bt – Bhutan
.bv – Bouvet Island (not in use; no registrations)
.bw – Botswana
.by – Belarus
.bz – Belize *
.ca – Canada
.cc – Cocos (Keeling) Islands *
.cd – Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly .zr – Zaire) *
.cf – Central African Republic
.cg – Republic of the Congo *
.ch – Switzerland *
.ci – Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
.ck – Cook Islands *
.cl – Chile
.cm – Cameroon
.cn – People's Republic of China *
.co – Colombia
.cr – Costa Rica
.cu – Cuba
.cv – Cape Verde
.cx – Christmas Island *
.cy – Cyprus
.cz – Czech Republic
.de – Germany
.dj – Djibouti *
.dk – Denmark *
.dm – Dominica
.do – Dominican Republic
.dz – Algeria
.ec – Ecuador
.ee – Estonia
.eg – Egypt
.eh – Western Sahara (not assigned; no DNS)
.er – Eritrea
.es – Spain *
.et – Ethiopia
.eu – European Union (code "exceptionally reserved" by ISO 3166-1)
.fi – Finland
.fj – Fiji *
.fk – Falkland Islands
.fm – Federated States of Micronesia *
.fo – Faroe Islands
.fr – France
.ga – Gabon
.gb – United Kingdom (Reserved domain by IANA; deprecated – see .uk)
.gd – Grenada
.ge – Georgia
.gf – French Guiana
.gg – Guernsey
.gh – Ghana
.gi – Gibraltar
.gl – Greenland *
.gm – Gambia
.gn – Guinea
.gp – Guadeloupe
.gq – Equatorial Guinea
.gr – Greece *
.gs – South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands *
.gt – Guatemala
.gu – Guam
.gw – Guinea-Bissau
.gy – Guyana
.hk – Hong Kong *
.hm – Heard Island and McDonald Islands *
.hn – Honduras *
.hr – Croatia
.ht – Haiti
.hu – Hungary *
.id – Indonesia
.ie – Ireland
.il – Israel *
.im – Isle of Man *
.in – India *
.io – British Indian Ocean Territory *
.iq – Iraq
.ir – Iran *
.is – Iceland
.it – Italy
.je – Jersey
.jm – Jamaica
.jo – Jordan
.jp – Japan
.ke – Kenya
.kg – Kyrgyzstan
.kh – Cambodia
.ki – Kiribati
.km – Comoros
.kn – Saint Kitts and Nevis
.kp – North Korea
.kr – South Korea
.kw – Kuwait
.ky – Cayman Islands
.kz – Kazakhstan *
.la – Laos *
.lb – Lebanon
.lc – Saint Lucia
.li – Liechtenstein *
.lk – Sri Lanka
.lr – Liberia
.ls – Lesotho
.lt – Lithuania
.lu – Luxembourg
.lv – Latvia *
.ly – Libya *
.ma – Morocco
.mc – Monaco
.md – Moldova *
.me – Montenegro
.mg – Madagascar
.mh – Marshall Islands
.mk – Republic of Macedonia
.ml – Mali
.mm – Myanmar
.mn – Mongolia *
.mo – Macau
.mp – Northern Mariana Islands *
.mq – Martinique
.mr – Mauritania
.ms – Montserrat *
.mt – Malta
.mu – Mauritius *
.mv – Maldives
.mw – Malawi *
.mx – Mexico *
.my – Malaysia
.mz – Mozambique
.na – Namibia *
.nc – New Caledonia
.ne – Niger
.nf – Norfolk Island *
.ng – Nigeria
.ni – Nicaragua
.nl – Netherlands *
.no – Norway
.np – Nepal
.nr – Nauru *
.nu – Niue *
.nz – New Zealand *
.nc.tr – North Cyprus *
.om – Oman
.pa – Panama
.pe – Peru
.pf – French Polynesia
.pg – Papua New Guinea
.ph – Philippines *
.pk – Pakistan *
.pl – Poland *
.pm – Saint Pierre and Miquelon
.pn – Pitcairn Islands *
.pr – Puerto Rico *
.ps – Palestinian Territory, Occupied *
.pt – Portugal *
.pw – Palau
.py – Paraguay
.qa – Qatar
.re – Réunion
.ro – Romania *
.rs – Serbia
.ru – Russia *
.rw – Rwanda
.sa – Saudi Arabia
.sb – Solomon Islands *
.sc – Seychelles *
.sd – Sudan
.se – Sweden *
.sg – Singapore
.sh – Saint Helena *
.si – Slovenia
.sj – Svalbard and Jan Mayen islands (not in use; no registrations)
.sk – Slovakia
.sl – Sierra Leone
.sm – San Marino *
.sn – Senegal
.so – Somalia * (down, still is delegated to Monolith [ml.org] Philadelphia, an entity defunct since end-1998)
.sr – Suriname *
.st – São Tomé and Príncipe *
.su – Soviet Union (deprecated; being phased out; code "transitionally reserved" by ISO 3166-1)
.sv – El Salvador
.sy – Syria *
.sz – Swaziland *
.tc – Turks and Caicos Islands
.td – Chad
.tf – French Southern Territories
.tg – Togo *
.th – Thailand
.tj – Tajikistan *
.tk – Tokelau *
.tl – East Timor (formerly .tp) *
.tm – Turkmenistan *
.tn – Tunisia
.to – Tonga *
.tp – East Timor (deprecated – use .tl; code "transitionally reserved" by ISO 3166-1)
.tr – Turkey
.tt – Trinidad and Tobago *
.tv – Tuvalu *
.tw – Taiwan *
.tz – Tanzania
.ua – Ukraine
.ug – Uganda *
.uk – United Kingdom (code "exceptionally reserved" by ISO 3166-1) (see also .gb)
.us – United States *
.uy – Uruguay
.uz – Uzbekistan
.va – Vatican City
.vc – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *
.ve – Venezuela
.vg – British Virgin Islands *
.vi – United States Virgin Islands
.vn – Vietnam
.vu – Vanuatu *
.wf – Wallis and Futuna
.ws – Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) *
.ye – Yemen
.yt – Mayotte
.yu – Yugoslavia (subsequently renamed Serbia and Montenegro)
.za – South Africa *
.zm – Zambia
.zw – Zimbabwe


Vanity ccTLDs

Vanity ccTLDs are TLDs which are used for various purposes outside their home countries, because of their name. For example:

* ad is a ccTLD for Andorra, but has recently been increasingly used by advertising agencies.
* ag is a ccTLD for Antigua and Barbuda and is sometimes used for agricultural sites. In Germany, AG (short for Aktiengesellschaft) is appended to the name of a stock-based company, similar to Inc. in USA.
* am is a ccTLD for Armenia, but is often used for AM radio stations.
* as is a ccTLD for American Samoa. In Denmark and Norway, AS is appended to the name of a stock-based company, similar to Inc. in USA.
* be is a ccTLD for Belgium. Widely used by small Bulgarian websites because it's cheaper than a bg ccTLD.
* cc is a ccTLD for Cocos (Keeling) Islands but is used for a wide variety of sites.
* cd is a ccTLD for Democratic Republic of Congo but is used for CD merchants and file sharing sites.
* dj is a ccTLD for Djibouti but is used for CD merchants and disc jockeys.
* fm is a ccTLD for the Federated States of Micronesia but it is often used for FM radio stations.
* gg is a ccTLD for Guernsey but it is often used by the gaming and gambling industry, particularly in relation to horse racing (gee-gee).
* im is a ccTLD for Island of Man but is often used by instant messaging programs and services.
* in is a ccTLD for India but is widely used in the internet industry.
* je is a ccTLD for Jersey but is often used as a diminutive in Dutch (e.g. "huis.je"), as "you" ("zoek.je" = "search ye!"), or as "I" in French (e.g. "moi.je")
* la is a ccTLD for Laos but is marketed as the TLD for Los Angeles.
* li is a ccTLD for Liechtenstein but is marketed as the TLD for Long Island.
* md is a ccTLD for Moldova, but is marketed exclusively to the medical industry (as in "medical domain" or "medical doctor").
* mu is a ccTLD for Mauritius, but is used within the music industry.
* nu is a ccTLD for Niue but marketed as resembling "new" in English and "now" in Nordic/Dutch. Also meaning "nude" in French/Portuguese.
* sc is a ccTLD for Seychelles but is often used as .Source
* tv is a ccTLD for Tuvalu but it is used for the television ("tv")/entertainment industry purposes.
* ws is a ccTLD for Samoa (earlier Western Samoa) is marketed as .Website
* vu is a ccTLD for Vanuatu but means "seen" in French.


You can read more about domain names here.