About 22,000 Third Level .name Addresses Will Be Shut Down

A little known type of domain is going away, and it is taking email addresses with it. Domain Name Wire reported on September 3 that Verisign is ending third level .name registrations. These are names like john.smith.name, plus the email forwarding tied to them.

Background: choosing a domain name that lasts.

What Is Ending

The .name ending was made for personal names. Some people registered a name with three parts, such as neil.fraser.name. That gave them a web address and often an email address too.

Domain Name Wire reported that about 22,000 of these registrations exist. They will be ended in February 2027. That applies even to names that were paid up for longer.

According to the report, Verisign asked for the change in April, and ICANN approved it in July. Some registrants asked ICANN to reconsider. Domain Name Wire said that request "is on track to be denied."

The Security Risk

The bigger worry is what happens after. If the shorter names, like fraser.name, later open up for anyone to register, a new owner could receive email meant for the old addresses. That can be used to reset passwords on accounts tied to them.

Why It Matters to a Business

Few businesses use a third level .name address. But this story shows something every owner should know. A registry can end a type of domain you have already paid for.

Take a few minutes to check which email address each important account uses. That means your bank, your payment processor, your domain registrar and your hosting. If any of them use an address you might lose, change it to one on a domain you control and keep renewed.

If you do use a third level .name address, move your email and account logins before February 2027.