There’s a pretty good chance someone else shares your first and last name.
With over 7 billion people in the world, there can be hundreds or even thousands of people with the same name. For example, there are 48,000 people with the name John Smith living in the United States today, albeit that is probably one of the most common names.
Still, there are probably at least a handful of individuals out there with your first and last name. With the growing digitization of our world, it has never been more important to stand out from your namesake counterparts.
If you’re not sure whether you’ll need a personal website in the future, keep reading. We’ve compiled a list of the five most common reasons people choose to own a website domain with their real name.
Should I Buy a Domain with My Name?
Showcase Your Portfolio
Many professionals who deal directly with clients have a website dedicated to their professional careers. It’s much more practical to direct people to your website than to email them a PDF of your portfolio and achievements. Whether you’re a blog writer or an established businessperson, owning and using your “name dot com” can boost your personal branding efforts and enable you to showcase your work.
If you want a good example of how professionals have used their name as a domain, check out Steve Streit’s about page on his website.
Get a Customized Email Address
A great feature of domain names is the ability to have custom email addresses attached to your website domain. For example, let’s say you owned JohnSmith.com. This would let you send emails from accounts ending in @JohnSmith.com. Pretty cool, right?
Customized email addresses appear more professional than those ending in @yahoo.com or @gmail.com, as an email from a custom domain immediately shows that the sender is established enough in their respective field to have their own website.
Control Your Identity
Another huge reason we see people buying their name domains is to be in control of their identity on the internet. Sure, you might have a Facebook or Instagram account that you share your life on. But, it’s not really yours.
Your social media account is owned by the platform it’s on, not you. You also have limited creative freedom, as you can only post things and edit your profile picture and bio.
With a personal website, you can do anything.
Whether you choose to go a professional route or a more casual and personal route, website design has infinite possibilities, and you can truly show the world who you are.
Stop Others From Getting It
Even if you have absolutely zero plans on actually creating a personal website for yourself, you should still consider owning the domain name, even if it’s simply to stop others from getting it.
As we mentioned earlier, there’s a high chance other people have your exact name. Fortunately, you can see how many people share your name in the U.S using http://howmanyofme.com/. If you discover several people with your name living in the United States alone, you should seriously consider just buying and owning your name’s domain.
It’s not the end of the world if one of your namesakes owns your name’s domain. With so many people sharing names today, it is bound to happen. A good workaround is to include your middle initial in the domain name as there’s a good chance it won’t be taken.
It’s Inexpensive
A lot of people don’t realize how easy the process of buying a website domain name really is. Most names ending in .com will cost $12/year, and you can search up your own name right now using Google Domains.
If you’re looking to buy your domain and use it, we recommend using a website builder like Wix or Squarespace, as they offer the most customizations and features.
Bottom Line
Owning your real name as a website domain has become an increasingly popular interest for many individuals on the internet. We outlined the top five reasons people have decided to purchase their real name as a website domain.
Many people believe having a professional portfolio on your personal website boosts credibility and professionalism, as they are harder to obtain and more practical than traditional documents or PDFs. The custom email address is a great plus, too.
Finally, it’s a smart idea to just own your name for the sake of owning it. Your name will always be relevant to you, and you may need a website in the future.
