.aim
Is .aim a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
Nobody has applied for .aim in its own right, as of 7 October 2026. .top (Zhongze) named .aim as a backup string for its .good application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. ShortDot named .aim as a backup string for its .yay application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A niche TLD for slogan-style and domain-hack buyers (take.aim, we.aim), coaching and goal-setting apps, marketing shops wanting a punchy verb, plus bulk registrants if it is priced low.
slogan-style and domain-hack buyers (take.aim, we.aim), coaching and goal-setting apps, marketing shops wanting a punchy verb, plus bulk registrants if it is priced low
Nobody has applied for .aim in its own right.
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.
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .good application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
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 as .aim: a short, everyday English achievement verb with no built-in industry, sold as an open aspirational namespace whose meaning the registry has to manufacture rather than inherit from a category.
Another three-letter abstract English word with zero category signal — it works only if a registry can convince registrants that an evocative, brandable word beats a descriptive one, which is exactly the wager .aim makes.
Structurally the closest twin: a three-letter common English word that simultaneously reads as a well-known corporate acronym, so the string's identity (open generic vs. one owner's initials) is contested by its own dual nature the way .aim's is.
What a .aim domain is
.aim is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our Culture category. Nobody has applied for .aim in its own right. It is named on ICANN’s list as part of an application for another string.
Is the .aim domain extension real yet?
.aim is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. Nobody has applied for it on the public record; the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round is the process that would decide whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .aim domain?
You can’t yet. A .aim 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 .aim was .win, delegated on 25 March 2015.
Is .aim a real TLD?
Not yet. .aim is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because ICANN’s list names .aim as part of an application for another string. Every entry on this page links to its source.
- ShortDot · now deactivated backupICANN
- .top (Zhongze) · first recordedICANN
- ShortDot · now abandonedICANN
- ShortDot · now announced
- ShortDot · first recordedShortDot (Ireland) Limited
“LL2624T-T62551 · LeapSense Limited · replacement string of .good · Deactivated NA2626T-T35536 · ShortDot (Ireland) Limited · replacement string of .yay · Deactivated”ICANN
“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: 10-29 (vanity/narrow), at the top of it. .aim is a real, short English verb/noun with genuine phrase value (take.aim, we.aim, true.aim), which keeps it out of the 1-9 band and gives it memorable, slogan-driven demand; but it names no category, industry, or place, so no serious project has an obvious reason to make it a primary identity, and it carries collision baggage with legacy tech and finance uses of 'AIM' as an acronym that would confuse rather than reinforce a brand. It is not in the 30-49 band because generic-word TLDs without a category anchor have historically (by analogy, no figures asserted) filled on price promotions rather than on primary-use demand, producing weak brand signal and a thin aftermarket concentrated in a handful of phrase names; the operator in the record runs .icu, .cyou, .bond, .cfd and .sbs, which by analogy suggests a volume/price-led go-to-market that would inflate counts without lifting per-name value. Main market uncertainty: whether it launches as a low-priced volume string (counts high, value low) or as a curated phrase/slogan namespace with premium tiers, which would concentrate value in a small number of memorable hacks but not move the band. Actual registration counts and pricing are unknown.