In part one of our report on surnames, we looked into the most popular surnames with corresponding domain name sales. In part two, we see what a last name is really worth. Thanks to NameBio, we have a comprehensive list of data that should help us to determine what a surname might be worth, calculated by the cost of the domain and the frequency of the surname.
Our data was provided by @Michael from NameBio, and originally we had 88,799 different potential surnames to sort through. Thanks to some computer wizardry from Michael, and many man hours of reviewing the list, we've reduced the list to under 1,300 domain name sales that are valuable mainly due to their frequency as a surname.
We have removed a number of high end domain sales such as Diamond.com and Beer.com, because while these are surnames, they're commercially known for something else, which has determined their sales price.
Why should you be interested in data from surnames? According to Page Howe (@sitehq), domain investor and Chief Engagement Officer at the .LA Registry, "This is probably the root demand for domain names, and should be doing the best among new TLDs." There are many reasons for someone to own their surname, whether it's in a .COM or a new gTLD. Owning the right surnames can prove to be a popular source of income.
Let's begin our analysis.
Average Surname Length
On average within our data sample, each domain name had an average of 6.46 letters. This tallies with the US government's own data set, which shows that 20.82% of all US citizens have a surname that is six letters in length, with 17.65% having a surname length of five letters and 15.55% having a surname length of seven letters.
The Average Frequency
Along with a list of surnames and their prices, we had their corresponding surname frequencies. This shows how many people in the USA have a specific surname. For example, the domain name "Roper.com" had a frequency of 22,895. This means that 22,895 people in the USA have a surname "Roper".
In total, the average frequency was 4,644. This means that from all the domain sales that have corresponding surname data, there was an average surname frequency of 4,644 people. On our data list, the highest frequency was "Brown", with 1,713,025 people in the USA called Brown, and the lowest being "Immen", with just 106.
Interestingly, the median frequency was 934. There is one name on our list with a frequency of 934, and that is Morea.com. This name sold at Afternic in 2009 for $3,000.
Does China Buy Surnames?
There are five popular Chinese surnames in my list of data that have sold for $45,000 or higher. Those are Zhou.com, Liao.com, Xiao.com, Zhao.com and Liang.com. In total, there are 11 surname sales of $45,000 or higher on our list, and these Chinese surnames account for 5 of those 11 sales.
I haven't analysed whether this means that Chinese investors place a higher value on common surnames, or whether there are alternative meanings that are driving the values here.
The Cost
Putting an exact valuation on a surname domain can be difficult, even with all of the data we have. I can tell you that the average price across all surnames on our list is $2,989.24. This includes five sales at $100,000 or higher (Brown.com, Zhou.com, Erickson.com, Mueller.com and Liao.com). Discounting these five sales leaves a value of $2,469.83.
This doesn't really tell us much about the value of a surname, so let's try to break the data down further using the average price per frequency range, and the average price per marketplace:
Average Price per Frequency Range
We can split the data up into several frequency ranges to see whether there is any correlation between the amount of people with a certain surname and the price of the domain name.
This does show that even in our limited data range, there is a noticeable difference in price as the frequency of the surname goes down, with high frequency surnames being sold at a far higher price than low frequency surnames.
High frequency surnames are also more likely to be used as the name of a company, which can increase the final value of the name immensely. Names such as Brown.com, Erickson.com and Mueller.com all have six-figure sales prices, and all are used to house business websites.
Average Price per Marketplace
I wanted to try to distinguish between potential end-user sales and investor sales, so I have attempted to break up the data by marketplaces. In my mind, marketplaces such as Afternic and BuyDomains represents a higher proportion of end-user sales whilst NameJet and GoDaddy represent more investment sales.
The data contains all historical sales data available from NameBio. Due to varying amounts of data available for each marketplace, some figures have been significantly raised by just a couple of high value sales. For example, NameJet's figures include the $50,000 sale of Zhao.com and the $100,000 sale of Liao.com.
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So what is a surname worth? Our data would seem to indicate that the average valuation is somewhere in the low four-figure range. However, as the frequency (or popularity) of the name increases, so can the price. There is a great resource for finding USA surnames, and that is Whitepages. Before you look to buy any surname domains, it's best to conduct your own research through outlets such as Whitepages and NameBio.
Remember, the data in this article is just for .COMs, but the model of investing in surnames could be extended to new gTLDs with a lower sales price for higher frequency surnames.
Our data was provided by @Michael from NameBio, and originally we had 88,799 different potential surnames to sort through. Thanks to some computer wizardry from Michael, and many man hours of reviewing the list, we've reduced the list to under 1,300 domain name sales that are valuable mainly due to their frequency as a surname.
We have removed a number of high end domain sales such as Diamond.com and Beer.com, because while these are surnames, they're commercially known for something else, which has determined their sales price.
Why should you be interested in data from surnames? According to Page Howe (@sitehq), domain investor and Chief Engagement Officer at the .LA Registry, "This is probably the root demand for domain names, and should be doing the best among new TLDs." There are many reasons for someone to own their surname, whether it's in a .COM or a new gTLD. Owning the right surnames can prove to be a popular source of income.
Let's begin our analysis.
Average Surname Length
On average within our data sample, each domain name had an average of 6.46 letters. This tallies with the US government's own data set, which shows that 20.82% of all US citizens have a surname that is six letters in length, with 17.65% having a surname length of five letters and 15.55% having a surname length of seven letters.
The Average Frequency
Along with a list of surnames and their prices, we had their corresponding surname frequencies. This shows how many people in the USA have a specific surname. For example, the domain name "Roper.com" had a frequency of 22,895. This means that 22,895 people in the USA have a surname "Roper".
In total, the average frequency was 4,644. This means that from all the domain sales that have corresponding surname data, there was an average surname frequency of 4,644 people. On our data list, the highest frequency was "Brown", with 1,713,025 people in the USA called Brown, and the lowest being "Immen", with just 106.
Interestingly, the median frequency was 934. There is one name on our list with a frequency of 934, and that is Morea.com. This name sold at Afternic in 2009 for $3,000.
Does China Buy Surnames?
There are five popular Chinese surnames in my list of data that have sold for $45,000 or higher. Those are Zhou.com, Liao.com, Xiao.com, Zhao.com and Liang.com. In total, there are 11 surname sales of $45,000 or higher on our list, and these Chinese surnames account for 5 of those 11 sales.
I haven't analysed whether this means that Chinese investors place a higher value on common surnames, or whether there are alternative meanings that are driving the values here.
The Cost
Putting an exact valuation on a surname domain can be difficult, even with all of the data we have. I can tell you that the average price across all surnames on our list is $2,989.24. This includes five sales at $100,000 or higher (Brown.com, Zhou.com, Erickson.com, Mueller.com and Liao.com). Discounting these five sales leaves a value of $2,469.83.
This doesn't really tell us much about the value of a surname, so let's try to break the data down further using the average price per frequency range, and the average price per marketplace:
Average Price per Frequency Range
We can split the data up into several frequency ranges to see whether there is any correlation between the amount of people with a certain surname and the price of the domain name.
| Frequency | Average Price |
|---|---|
| 75,000+ | $61,133 |
| 25,000 - 74,999 | $22,131 |
| 15,000 - 24,999 | $15,518 |
| 5,000 - 14,999 | $5,680 |
| 1,000 - 4,999 | $2,326 |
| 500 - 999 | $1,701 |
| 499 or Less | $911 |
This does show that even in our limited data range, there is a noticeable difference in price as the frequency of the surname goes down, with high frequency surnames being sold at a far higher price than low frequency surnames.
High frequency surnames are also more likely to be used as the name of a company, which can increase the final value of the name immensely. Names such as Brown.com, Erickson.com and Mueller.com all have six-figure sales prices, and all are used to house business websites.
Average Price per Marketplace
I wanted to try to distinguish between potential end-user sales and investor sales, so I have attempted to break up the data by marketplaces. In my mind, marketplaces such as Afternic and BuyDomains represents a higher proportion of end-user sales whilst NameJet and GoDaddy represent more investment sales.
| Marketplace | Average Sales Price |
|---|---|
| Afternic | $2,330 |
| BuyDomains | $1,925 |
| DropCatch | $1,226 |
| GoDaddy | $881 |
| NameJet | $2,288 |
| Private | $19,839 |
| Sedo | $3,826 |
| SnapNames | $2,483 |
The data contains all historical sales data available from NameBio. Due to varying amounts of data available for each marketplace, some figures have been significantly raised by just a couple of high value sales. For example, NameJet's figures include the $50,000 sale of Zhao.com and the $100,000 sale of Liao.com.
--
So what is a surname worth? Our data would seem to indicate that the average valuation is somewhere in the low four-figure range. However, as the frequency (or popularity) of the name increases, so can the price. There is a great resource for finding USA surnames, and that is Whitepages. Before you look to buy any surname domains, it's best to conduct your own research through outlets such as Whitepages and NameBio.
Remember, the data in this article is just for .COMs, but the model of investing in surnames could be extended to new gTLDs with a lower sales price for higher frequency surnames.
