.aka
Is .aka a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
Nobody has applied for .aka in its own right, as of 7 October 2026. Juming named .aka as a backup string for its .alpha application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. Endpoint Domains named .aka as a backup string for its .true application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A catchy alias-style ending for pseudonyms and side projects, but rarely a serious primary web identity.
individuals and creators who go by a handle or stage name (streamers, musicians, writers, pseudonymous builders) wanting an alias page, plus a small set of identity and link-in-bio style tools
Nobody has applied for .aka in its own right.
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .true application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .alpha 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: a tiny everyday word whose whole value is that it reads instantly as a statement about who someone is, rented at retail to individuals who put their own name in front of it, and it only works if the word needs no explanation before the dot.
Same bet of monetizing an established English post-name abbreviation that people already append to a personal identity, turning a conventional shorthand into an identity suffix, though its buyer pool is narrowed to one profession rather than anyone with an alias.
Same bet: a three-letter plain-language abbreviation sold broadly to individuals as the place their personal profile lives, winning or losing purely on whether the shorthand's meaning is self-evident to a mass retail buyer.
What a .aka domain is
.aka 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 .aka in its own right. It is named on ICANN’s list as part of an application for another string.
Is the .aka domain extension real yet?
.aka 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 .aka domain?
You can’t yet. A .aka 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 .aka was .soy, delegated on 19 April 2014.
Is .aka a real TLD?
Not yet. .aka is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because ICANN’s list names .aka as part of an application for another string. Every entry on this page links to its source.
“EDI2665T-T39181 · Endpoint Domains, Inc. · replacement string of .true · Deactivated TL2645T-T71978 · TechEdge Limited · replacement string of .alpha · Deactivated”ICANN
- Band chosen: 10-29 (vanity/narrow). The string is a widely recognised English abbreviation for "also known as", short and pronounceable, which gives it genuine memorability for alias pages, stage names and pseudonymous side projects. But it reads as a connector rather than a category: "handle.aka" does not name what a project is, and in ordinary English the abbreviation precedes the alias rather than following it, so the domain hack is weaker than it first appears. By analogy (flagged as analogy), personal-identity TLDs with a clear semantic fit such as .me have sustained real personal-site use, while more generic identity strings such as .name saw limited uptake; .aka sits closer to the latter because it competes with social handles, link-in-bio services and existing personal TLDs for the same buyer, and the abbreviation is also used by unrelated organisations and shortener services, diluting its meaning. It is not in the 30-49 band because serious projects are unlikely to adopt an .aka address as primary identity even on price, the brand signal is weak, and a resale market beyond a handful of memorable one-word names is unlikely within 5 years. It is not in the 1-9 band because there is a plausible, if shallow, vanity market among creators and pseudonymous users, and the string is clean and easy to say. On the record: two applications exist, both deactivated and both filed as replacement strings for other primary applications (.true and .alpha); no contention is recorded; no category tag is recorded. Volume figures, pricing and any registrar or platform integrations are unknown. Main market uncertainty: whether the creator and pseudonym economy would adopt a dedicated alias namespace at all, or keep handles on platforms and existing personal TLDs.