.hero
Is .hero a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.hero is not contested. One application for it is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 7 October 2026. It is Endpoint Domains. XYZ Registry named .hero as a backup string for its .con application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. Intercap named .hero as a backup string for its .wiz application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. ShortDot named .hero as a backup string for its .ask application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A niche TLD for brand-builders and marketers who already use "hero" in a product or campaign name (fintech, gaming, employee-recognition, fundraising), plus bargain registrants chasing a memorable word.
brand-builders and marketers who already use "hero" in a product or campaign name (fintech, gaming, employee-recognition, fundraising), plus bargain registrants chasing a memorable word
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 .wiz 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 .con 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: an open, flattering persona noun with no category to anchor it, sold to individuals and small operators who want to self-declare status on their own name rather than describe a line of business.
Same bet: informal aspirational-identity slang whose whole value is the ego/marketing flourish it lends to a personal or campaign site, dependent on the word staying culturally fashionable rather than on any registrant pool defined by industry.
Also a person-label rather than a category or company, so it plays for the same self-designation buyer, but it is a sober competence claim tied to professional-services directories where .hero is emotive branding with no occupational filter.
What a .hero domain is
.hero is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our Brand category. One application for it is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .hero domain extension real yet?
.hero is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .hero domain?
You can’t yet. A .hero 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 .hero was .guru, delegated on 6 November 2013.
Is .hero a real TLD?
Not yet. .hero is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .hero is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
“EDI2665T-T28371 · Endpoint Domains, Inc. · primary IRI2679T-T96997 · Intercap Registry Inc. · replacement string of .wiz · Deactivated NA2626T-T63059 · ShortDot (Ireland) Limited · replacement string of .ask · Deactivated XL2625T-T48604 · XYZ.COM LLC · replacement string of .con · 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: 30-49 (usable but limited). .hero is a positive, globally understood English word with genuine brandable uses — many companies style themselves "X Hero", and marketing or fundraising campaigns lean on the word — so it is above the vanity band: some serious projects could plausibly pick a .hero name as a primary identity without it reading as a joke. It is not in the 50-69 band because no category (games, fintech, HR software, charity) would adopt it as a default; every registration needs explaining, and by analogy to other positive-word generic TLDs (.win, .vip, .fun — analogy, no figures asserted) such strings have tended to gather volume on price promotions rather than build an aftermarket or a credibility signal. The recorded operator profile (registry behind .icu, .cyou, .bond, .cfd, .sbs) suggests, again by analogy to that portfolio, a volume-and-price positioning, which would raise registration counts but keep brand strength and resale thin. Main market uncertainty: whether .hero is positioned as a low-cost volume string (likely dilution of the namespace by throwaway registrations) or as a curated brandable, and whether any recognizable company adopts a .hero domain as its primary identity within five years — the difference could move this a band in either direction.