.first
Is .first a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
Nobody has applied for .first in its own right, as of 7 October 2026. XYZ Registry named .first as a backup string for its .collection application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. GoDaddy Registry named .first as a backup string for its .mvp application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A catchy word for slogans like ai.first or safety.first, but few businesses would make it their main web address.
startups and campaigns wanting an "X-first" positioning phrase (ai.first, privacy.first), plus the many companies whose names begin with "First"
Nobody has applied for .first in its own right.
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .mvp 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 .collection 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 short superlative English adjective with no category or audience attached, sold on the implied claim a registrant makes about themselves rather than on what they do, so the registry is monetizing positioning language across every vertical at once.
Another contentless rank word whose value comes entirely from the boast it lets any business make, meaning it competes on evocative brevity and open-ended marketing use rather than on serving a defined category of primary identity.
A bare number word playing the same game as an ordinal — universal, abstract, and dependent on registrants supplying the meaning — though it leans more on terse brandability and corporate 'unified' naming than on the superiority claim that carries .first.
What a .first domain is
.first is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our Brand category. Nobody has applied for .first in its own right. It is named on ICANN’s list as part of an application for another string.
Is the .first domain extension real yet?
.first 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 .first domain?
You can’t yet. A .first 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 .first was .best, delegated on 27 February 2014.
Is .first a real TLD?
Not yet. .first is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because ICANN’s list names .first as part of an application for another string. Every entry on this page links to its source.
“NA2631T-T90207 · Registry Services, LLC · replacement string of .mvp · Deactivated XL2625T-T38552 · XYZ.COM LLC · replacement string of .collection · Deactivated”ICANN
- Band chosen: 30-49, usable but limited. The string is a common English ordinal/adjective with two natural hooks: the "X-first" positioning phrase (mobile.first, customer.first, ai.first), which reads well as a tagline or campaign address, and the large population of businesses, especially banks and insurers, whose names start with "First". Neither hook produces a category where .first would be the default primary identity. Slogan-style names tend to be used as redirects or campaign landers rather than the main site, and "First"-named companies are typically conservative organizations that keep legacy .com or ccTLD identities (an inference from analogy, not a verified fact). By analogy with other short generic-adjective TLDs such as .one, .best, .top and .new (analogy, no figures asserted), such strings gain registrations largely on price or promotions, carry a weak brand signal on their own, and build a thin aftermarket concentrated in a handful of phrase-matching names. It is not in the 50-69 band because there is no identifiable segment with sustained demand for .first as a primary identity that would merely need explaining; it is above the 10-29 band because the X-first phrase gives a repeatable, non-joke use case across many industries and because two large registry operators (GoDaddy Registry and XYZ, per the verified record, both applications now listed as deactivated) saw enough commercial potential to file for it, which modestly raises the likelihood of active retail distribution if delegated. Main market uncertainty: whether X-first phrase names get used as real primary web identities by funded projects, or remain vanity redirects; the former would move the score toward the top of the band, the latter toward the bottom. Exact registration and resale figures for comparable TLDs are unknown to me within the rules and are not asserted.