Published: 18 Jan 2023
What were the most popular domains of 2022?
All TLDS
As 2022 drew to a close, there were 1,602 different TLD’s available, with 640,951,469 domains registered across these extensions. Leading the pack for another year was .com, the most popular extensions worldwide, accounting for 37.10% off all registered domains. Remaining in second, was .tk (the ccTLD for or Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific) due to them being one of the only TLD’s offering free domains. There were no new additions to the top 10 extensions in 2022, the only difference coming in .xyz and .ru swapping 8th and 9th place as .xyz continued its strong growth by increasing almost a third in 2022.
| TLD | Number of Registered Domains | Share of TLDs |
| .com | 237,820,835 | 37.10% |
| .tk | 27,145,136 | 4.24% |
| .cn | 26,551,908 | 4.14% |
| .de | 23,573,793 | 3.68% |
| .net | 20,866,896 | 3.26% |
| .uk | 20,666,267 | 3.22% |
| .org | 16,492,750 | 2.57% |
| .xyz | 12,066,785 | 1.88% |
| .ru | 11,132,796 | 1.74% |
| .top | 9,514,703 | 1.48% |
| TLD | Number of Registered Domains | Share of TLDs |
| .tk | 27,145,136 | 10.64% |
| .cn | 26,551,908 | 10.41% |
| .de | 23,573,793 | 9.24% |
| .uk | 20,666,267 | 8.10% |
| .ru | 11,132,796 | 4.36% |
| .ga | 9,463,702 | 3.71% |
| .cf | 7,707,265 | 3.02% |
| .ml | 7,483,824 | 2.93% |
| .nl | 6,906,382 | 2.71% |
| .br | 6,154,664 | 2.41% |
ccTLDs
Of the 1,602 TLD’s available, 340 are ccTLDs (country code top level domains). 39.79% (255,093,316) of all domains registered are ccTLD’s, with 5 of the top 10 also appearing in the top 10 for all TLD’s above. .br made waves this year, entering the top 10 ccTLD’s for the first time, knocking out .fr in the process, the remainder of the top 10 ccTLD’s stay the same.
Generic TLDs
The top 8 generic TLD’s accounted for 42.93% (275,210,020) of all domains registered, with 89.41% of these being .com. There was a lot of movement in the generic TLD table in 2022, with .net overtaking .org for the first time, .inta swapping places with .edu and .arpa overtaking .mil for the first time also.
| TLD | Number of Registered Domains | Share of TLDs |
| .com | 237,820,835 | 89.41% |
| .net | 20,866,896 | 7.58% |
| .org | 16,492,750 | 5.99% |
| .gov | 9,900 | <0.01% |
| .int | 9,259 | <0.01% |
| .edu | 8,341 | <0.01% |
| .arpa | 1,676 | <0.01% |
| .mil | 363 | <0.01% |
| TLD | Number of Registered Domains | Share of TLDs |
| .xyz | 12,066,785 | 10.91% |
| .top | 9,514,703 | 8.60% |
| .info | 8,452,872 | 7.64% |
| .icu | 8,047,941 | 7.27% |
| .online | 5,845,926 | 5.28% |
| .site | 5,040,318 | 4.56% |
| .club | 4,271,098 | 3.86% |
| .biz | 3,465,443 | 3.13% |
| .shop | 3,178,056 | 2.87% |
| .loan | 2,643,048 | 2.39% |
Alternative TLDs
In 2022 alternative TLD's surpassed 100,00,000 registered domains for the first time with 110,648,133. .xyz leads the pack, .info made the top 3 for the first time after knocking .icu out of the bronze position, whilst at the other end, we saw .vip leave the top 10 for 2022 and .shop steamroll itself straight into number 9.
What TLDs launched in 2022?
.day
People not only seized the day in 2022 but seized .day domains, with 13,784 domains recorded in that new TLD. From international holidays to wedding days and birthdays, .day showed its diversity and popularity by being the most popular TLD launched in 2022.
.kids
A dedicated digital space of higher trust, built to curb inappropriate and abusive material .kids domains are for those that create entertaining & educational content for kids. Despite only launching in July, it was the second most popular TLD that launched in 2022, with 2,605 domains registered.
.rsvp
1,431 .rsvp domains were registered in 2022. Ideal for those celebrating an occasion, throwing a fundraiser, or accepting bookings, the new .rsvp TLD provides an easily recognisable domain extension for those looking to monitor attendance.
.boo
There were 788 .boo registrations in 2022. Whether building a website for love, laughs, or a spooky surprise, .boo provides a unique and eye-catching extension for those who want to stand out from the crowd.
.channel
With the boom of content creators, it was time to get a dedicated extension, so welcome to the web .channel. Restricted to content creators and publishers wanting to monetise there content, .channel provides a recognisable and safe space, 323 domains were registered in 2022.
.giving
249 mission-driven organisations registered a .giving domain in 2022. A good fit for both non-profits and corporations with a commitment to social responsibility, .giving further empowers these companies with a unique extensions to engage with their communities and advance change.
What TLDs are on the rise?
.shop
The .shop TLD performed strongly in 2022, almost doubling its number of registrations from, 1,692,143 in 2021 to 3,174,079 in 2022. With many people around the world still feeling the economic effects of Covid-19, side hustles have rapidly increased globally, as people look to other sources to boost their income. .shop has been the perfect platform for these people to get their ideal domain without having to fight in the competitiveness of .com.
.art
.art also experienced a rapid rise in 2022, starting at 195,160 and finishing the year at 338,931 domains registered. This is partly due to the rise in popularity of NFT's (non-fungible tokens) as people look to sell and secure ownership of digital art and content. .art has shown it's value, receiving notable adopters such as Amazon, Apple, Instagram, Bank of America and Louis Vuitton as big brands see benefit in highlighting their creativity through this extension.
.tech
As our lives become further integrated with technology, the desire to showcase this relationship grows, which is evident through the 50%+ growth of .tech in 2022 from 630,706 to 965,652 domains registered. With an aim to de-clutter the internet namespace in the tech industry, .tech is for anyone who is passionate about or works in the tech space, from large corporates to small bedroom start-ups.
What are
"Web3 Domains?"
Web3 Domains are a new type of internet address that can be used to access decentralized websites on the blockchain.
These domains are different from traditional web domains because they are stored on a blockchain, which is a decentralized and distributed ledger, rather than on a central server.
This means that Web3 Domains are not controlled by any single entity or authority, and they can't be taken down or censored. Instead, they are controlled by the community of users on the blockchain. This can leave brands vulnerable to infringement. Lexsynergy has identified this threat by introducing Web3 defensive registrations and recovery services integrated into its domain management platform.
Expert Takes
Daniel Greenberg, Lexsynergy CEO:
The growth of the domain industry is positive but this growth does include an unpleasant element namely, squatting. This form of infringement seeks to piggyback off trade mark owners by diverting revenue through phishing and various other forms of online scams. These activities saw trade mark owners flock to online brand protection companies to monitor and enforce the trade marks online.
This activity saw Lexsynergy take down more websites and social media accounts than ever before. The market saw the risk and took appropriate action, which we anticipate will escalate in 2023.
Elad Kinstler, Lexsynergy COO:
While a number of industry forecasts predicted a decline in new domain registrations, 2022 saw an increase in our new domain registrations year-on-year. While new gTLD launches are almost complete from the first round, the number of domain disputes continue to rise. WIPO's data released by AtlasVPN in December shows domain disputes are up almost 10% from 2021. With infringers continuing to look at ways of exploiting brands and, companies launching new brand names/products all the time, I expect domain growth to continue in 2023. It will also be interesting to keep an eye on Web3 domains and further developments from ICANN regarding another round of new gTLD applications in 2023.
Scott Kenna, Head of Client Success:
2022 was the year of web3 in the domain industry. We have seen numerous providers of domains using blockchain technology from HNS, Unstoppable domains, and Ethereum Name Service, all with the intention of creating a decentralised naming system. Sounds exciting, however, sadly for many brands, this was not the case in 2022. It has been a much more stressful year for brands that aimed to secure their trademarks in the web3 environment, with losing out on their trademarks to third parties. In the current state, once it's gone, it's gone! Unless you can buy it from the third party, so it's important for brand owners to look to secure these early.
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