Reglikedomain industry desk

Domain name registrations spike — Royal baby

GoDaddy notes increase in domain registrations related to baby.

I have to admit, I don’t really get this royal baby nonsense. But it’s still the top news story today, even on the U.S. version of CNN.com.

Punters* are lining up to cash in on the name of Prince William and Catherine Middleton’s baby. GoDaddy notes that, as of yesterday evening, it had seen a spike of 2x-4x (in the previous 24 hours) in domain names registered that included possible names of the royal baby: George, James, Alexander, Louis, and Arthur.

The numbers aren’t huge – regarding 200 in 24 hours. Given the variety of names, it’s hard to tell if this is more or less interesting than guessing the name of a pope. The registrar notes that registrations counting the word “prince” were up 5x during the same 24 hour period.

It might also be interesting to see how many registrations are specific to the .co.uk domain name. [Update: over 200 “george” domains were registered on 7/24, and 21% were from UK clients.]

* I use the term “punters” here, since The Economist uses that word all the time. Thus, I assume that’s how Brits refer to bettors and gamblers.

Also on the wire

Other reporting from the domain desk.

NDomain RegistrarsNetwork Solutions PurchasedDPolicy & LawDomain names closer to fruition — .Travel, .JobsSecure domain name registrar — CloudFlare launchesDomain RegistrarsSecure domain name registrar — CloudFlare launchesPrivate equity firm to acquire SquarespaceDomain RegistrarsPrivate equity firm to acquire SquarespaceBug kills domain sales — Afternic checkoutDomain RegistrarsBug kills domain sales — Afternic checkoutGoogle Domains screw-up divulges 1,664 clients’ email addressesDomain RegistrarsGoogle Domains screw-up divulges 1,664 clients’ email addressesTeam Internet faces lower CPMs and buyout stumbleDomain RegistrarsTeam Internet faces lower CPMs and buyout stumbleODomain RegistrarsOffload Domains from De-Accredited Registrar — ICANN ToContinues to Buy Dark Blue Sea Shares — Photon GroupDomain RegistrarsContinues to Buy Dark Blue Sea Shares — Photon Group