.name Domain Names

The .name top-level domain name (TLD) is designed for individuals to create a presence and make online communications easy and accessible. Not exclusive to registrars, social networking and community sites may also offer .name registration to their members and customers as a value-add service to help establish an individual identity online.

A Domain Name for Consumers

As people use email and join professional community and social networking Web sites to communicate with friends and family, they establish online identities. A .name address gives consumers an online address, regardless of the email or hosting service they choose. Internet portals and broadband providers have the opportunity to add new revenue streams and increase customer loyalty by registering personal domain names for individuals as a complimentary service or optional upgrade to subscribers.

Flexibility and Control for Online Identities

VeriSign supports 5 different ways that registrars can offer .name domain names to help consumers maximize flexibility and control with their online presence:

• Second-Level Domain Names allow you to offer consumers a personal, custom Web address such as "smith.name".
• Third-Level Domain Names allow you to offer consumers to register their full name with a Web address such as "john.smith.name".
• Email Forwarding lets consumers forward a free account such as jsmith@gmail.com to a more personal address such as jsmith@smith.name.
• NameWatch monitors registrations for early identification of potential intellectual property infringement or identity theft.
• Defensive Registration removes common law trademarks and copyrighted names from the pool of available domain names. Standard service removes exact names from Third-Level Domain Names. Premium service blocks registrations of Email Forwarding, Second-Level and Third-Level Domain Names.

The Internationalization of .name

With over 90% of the world's population speaking a language other than English and more than 50% of Internet users being non-English speakers, you can help your customers wanting their own personal Web space on the Internet by adding Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) for .name. IDNs for .name are supported for Second-Level and Third-Level Domain Names and for Standard and Premium Defensive Registrations. Examples of Second-Level and Third-Level Domain Names are:

• 金.name (punycode: xn--5m4a)
• 張民.金.name (punycode: xn--z1t39z.xn--5m4a)

Who Uses .name?

1 of 2 Dan Tobias, Technology Commentator ".name is the logical place for individuals on the net... we're not commercial, or organizations, or network providers, or governments, so the old top-level domains don't fit... the .name domain says that your site and e-mail address are personal." Dan Tobias, Technology Commentator dan.tobias.name 2 of 2 Clifford Neuman, University Professor ".name is a natural top-level domain for personal pages. .name provides a URL that I can always update to point to my site, regardless of any changes in my affiliations, or choice of ISP. .name provides an easy to remember website URL. Having my own site makes it easy to distribute my papers, talks, recipes, opinions, and anything else I choose to publish!" Clifford Neuman, University Professor www.clifford.neuman.name/

Why VeriSign?

VeriSign is the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world. Billions of consumers and businesses worldwide rely on VeriSign every day for access to commerce and communications. The VeriSign DNS has maintained 100% operational accuracy and stability for 11 years.To offer domain name registration as a service, become a .name registrar or request a referral to become a .name reseller.