Animal domain names are some of the most sought after investments in the domain space? According to NameBio, domains such as Walrus.com and Snake.com have sold to investors for five and six-figures a piece, but why? What makes an animal domain name so desirable? To find out, we have taken a look at ten animal domain names to see how they're being used by end users and to see whether there are any clues about the overall value of animal names to investors.
Penguin.com
The Penguin.com name is owned by Penguin Publishing Group, a multi-national book publisher founded in the UK in 1935. The name is a vital part of their online identity, with the name hosting the company's corporate site and book shop.
There are several other famous brands that using the "Penguin" moniker including Penguin, the clothing company. The fashion brand is using OriginalPenguin.com, but interestingly the company does own Kangaroo.com.
Cat.com
Cat.com houses the worldwide homepage for the largest manufacturer of construction equipment in the world, with Wikipedia listing the company's revenue as $45.5 billion in 2017. Caterpillar Inc, who also own caterpillar.com, use "Cat" as one of their main brand names.
According to DomainIQ's WHOIS history, they've owned the domain since at least 2003 when DomainIQ's records began. "Cat" is also the NYSE stock ticker symbol of the company.
Lion.com
Owned by Lion Technology Inc, Lion.com hosts the New Jersey-based company's main website offering expert training and support. Based on archival copies of the website, Lion Technology has used the name since at least 1999, but there are plenty of companies who would like to own it.
The female equivalent, Lioness.com, is owned by a leadership agency for women, founded by leadership coach Stephanie Redlener. According to DomainIQ's WHOIS history, Lioness.com was acquired from the Internet Real Estate Ltd portfolio in recent years.
Elephant.com
In 2005, the Elephant.com domain name was the subject of a UDRP, filed by Admiral Insurance from the UK. The UDRP complaint was denied, and according to WHOIS history, Admiral acquired the name in 2006.
Whilst Admiral continues to use Elephant.co.uk for it's UK insurance brand, it looks as though Elephant.com now focuses on insurance for the US market, operated by a subsidiary of Admiral, Elephant Insurance Services, LLC.
Dolphin.com
One of the major benefits of using an animal name as a brand seems to be that it’s versatile enough to use in any industry. That’s certainly true in this case as Dolphin.com has very little to do with marine life and everything to do with Internet browsers.
Launched as a beta in 2012, Dolphin is an alternative browser for iOS and Android. Based on DomainIQ’s WHOIS history, the browser developer acquired the domain in 2015, with no details of the acquisition made public.
Shark.com
Another marine based domain name shows precisely the wide range of uses for animal/wildlife names. Whilst Dolphin.com is related to an Internet browser, the Shark.com name is owned and operated by a former golfer. Australian Greg Norman, nicknamed The Shark, spent 331 weeks as the world’s number one golf pro.
After retiring, Greg created the Greg Norman Company, formerly known as Great White Shark Enterprises. Shark.com houses Greg’s multiple ventures.
Eagle.com
The eagle is eponymous with the United States and the patriotism of the US brand. It’s no surprise, then, that the eagle is used within many US company names.
There is, however, only one company that can own Eagle.com and that is Eagle Financial Services, a personal loan company with an abundance of locations in the US.
Goat.com
In recent years, goat has taken on a secondary meaning with some high profile sports, music and movie stars often described as the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT for short). Until 2017, the goat.com domain name was owned by Six Red Dice, a domain investment company headed by Sam Dennis.
The domain then went under privacy protection and started hosting a sneakers store run by Goat Group. According to CrunchBase, it's the world's largest marketplace for authentic sneakers and has raised a total of $197 million in funding so far.
Fox.com
Fox is one of the most famous brands operating on an animal name. The global media giant uses Fox.com as its base for its streaming and live TV, but also uses other Fox names for its news and sports divisions.
According to UDRPSearch, Fox defends its "Fox" trademark aggressively, filing sixty-one UDRP's against registrants.
Duck.com
Duck.com is perhaps one of the more famous domain transfers in recent history after the Google-owned domain moved into the possession of rival search engine DuckDuckGo. We confirmed the acquisition in December 2018 and the story was picked up by major outlets such as TechCrunch, Gizmodo and The Verge.
Now, Duck.com forwards to DuckDuckGo, but it is unclear whether DuckDuckGo has any further plans for the name.
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From the names above, it's clear that animal domain names are versatile brands, and this may explain why they are so popular as investments. Animal names aren't pigeonholed into specific industries, verticals or company types, and the array of companies using them proves that.
Penguin.com
The Penguin.com name is owned by Penguin Publishing Group, a multi-national book publisher founded in the UK in 1935. The name is a vital part of their online identity, with the name hosting the company's corporate site and book shop.
There are several other famous brands that using the "Penguin" moniker including Penguin, the clothing company. The fashion brand is using OriginalPenguin.com, but interestingly the company does own Kangaroo.com.
Cat.com
Cat.com houses the worldwide homepage for the largest manufacturer of construction equipment in the world, with Wikipedia listing the company's revenue as $45.5 billion in 2017. Caterpillar Inc, who also own caterpillar.com, use "Cat" as one of their main brand names.
According to DomainIQ's WHOIS history, they've owned the domain since at least 2003 when DomainIQ's records began. "Cat" is also the NYSE stock ticker symbol of the company.
Lion.com
Owned by Lion Technology Inc, Lion.com hosts the New Jersey-based company's main website offering expert training and support. Based on archival copies of the website, Lion Technology has used the name since at least 1999, but there are plenty of companies who would like to own it.
The female equivalent, Lioness.com, is owned by a leadership agency for women, founded by leadership coach Stephanie Redlener. According to DomainIQ's WHOIS history, Lioness.com was acquired from the Internet Real Estate Ltd portfolio in recent years.
Elephant.com
In 2005, the Elephant.com domain name was the subject of a UDRP, filed by Admiral Insurance from the UK. The UDRP complaint was denied, and according to WHOIS history, Admiral acquired the name in 2006.
Whilst Admiral continues to use Elephant.co.uk for it's UK insurance brand, it looks as though Elephant.com now focuses on insurance for the US market, operated by a subsidiary of Admiral, Elephant Insurance Services, LLC.
Dolphin.com
One of the major benefits of using an animal name as a brand seems to be that it’s versatile enough to use in any industry. That’s certainly true in this case as Dolphin.com has very little to do with marine life and everything to do with Internet browsers.
Launched as a beta in 2012, Dolphin is an alternative browser for iOS and Android. Based on DomainIQ’s WHOIS history, the browser developer acquired the domain in 2015, with no details of the acquisition made public.
Shark.com
Another marine based domain name shows precisely the wide range of uses for animal/wildlife names. Whilst Dolphin.com is related to an Internet browser, the Shark.com name is owned and operated by a former golfer. Australian Greg Norman, nicknamed The Shark, spent 331 weeks as the world’s number one golf pro.
After retiring, Greg created the Greg Norman Company, formerly known as Great White Shark Enterprises. Shark.com houses Greg’s multiple ventures.
Eagle.com
The eagle is eponymous with the United States and the patriotism of the US brand. It’s no surprise, then, that the eagle is used within many US company names.
There is, however, only one company that can own Eagle.com and that is Eagle Financial Services, a personal loan company with an abundance of locations in the US.
Goat.com
In recent years, goat has taken on a secondary meaning with some high profile sports, music and movie stars often described as the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT for short). Until 2017, the goat.com domain name was owned by Six Red Dice, a domain investment company headed by Sam Dennis.
The domain then went under privacy protection and started hosting a sneakers store run by Goat Group. According to CrunchBase, it's the world's largest marketplace for authentic sneakers and has raised a total of $197 million in funding so far.
Fox.com
Fox is one of the most famous brands operating on an animal name. The global media giant uses Fox.com as its base for its streaming and live TV, but also uses other Fox names for its news and sports divisions.
According to UDRPSearch, Fox defends its "Fox" trademark aggressively, filing sixty-one UDRP's against registrants.
Duck.com
Duck.com is perhaps one of the more famous domain transfers in recent history after the Google-owned domain moved into the possession of rival search engine DuckDuckGo. We confirmed the acquisition in December 2018 and the story was picked up by major outlets such as TechCrunch, Gizmodo and The Verge.
Now, Duck.com forwards to DuckDuckGo, but it is unclear whether DuckDuckGo has any further plans for the name.
--
From the names above, it's clear that animal domain names are versatile brands, and this may explain why they are so popular as investments. Animal names aren't pigeonholed into specific industries, verticals or company types, and the array of companies using them proves that.
