Domains with hyphens are about 9.94% of all .com names, which is roughly 16.6 million. Another 9.38% contain a digit. We counted all 167 million names on 8 October 2026. Hyphens and numbers are common, but most brands avoid them.
How many domains with hyphens are in .com?
On 8 October 2026, about 9.94% of .com names contained at least one hyphen. That is about one name in ten. The count is large because hyphens let people build long, keyword-style names when someone else owns the plain version.
Digits are almost as common. About 9.38% of the names have at least one digit. Only 0.54% are made of digits alone, such as a number or a date.
| Type of name | Share of the zone |
|---|---|
| Contain a hyphen | 9.94% |
| Contain a digit | 9.38% |
| Only digits | 0.54% |
| Start with xn-- (international names) | 0.44% |
| Three characters or fewer | 0.03% |
The State of .com page updates these shares every day.
Why people choose domains with hyphens
A hyphen is a way to get a name that looks free. If someone owns "bluehouse.com", "blue-house.com" may still be open. It also keeps keywords separate, which can make a long name easier to read.
Hyphens have a place in the web address of a page. A page URL often uses hyphens between words. In a domain name, however, they cause more problems than they solve.
The risks of domains with hyphens and numbers
People forget hyphens. When someone says the name aloud, they have to say "dash", and many listeners will still miss it. Typed from memory, the hyphen is the first thing to go. A visitor ends up on the wrong site.
Numbers cause a different mistake. Does "4" mean the digit or the word "for"? Does "2" mean "to"? A name like "best4you.com" forces a pause every time you say it. Both problems send traffic to a competitor.
Spam also plays a part. Some spam sites use hyphenated names, so people may view them with suspicion. That is not a rule, but it is a real risk for a new brand.
When hyphens and numbers make sense
There are good cases. A number can be part of a real brand, such as a product with a model name. A hyphen can help when two words would otherwise form an odd third word.
Use this check. Would you be happy to say the name on the phone, with no spelling? If the answer is yes, it can work. If you must spell it, think again. The Domain Score flags hyphens and digits as lowering readability, and the Domain Screener checks the joins for unwanted meanings.
Do hyphens change how Google sees a name?
Google's own SEO starter guide focuses on clear, descriptive addresses and useful pages. It does not tell you to add hyphens to a domain name. Rankings come from the content and from the people who link to it.
So a hyphen will not rescue a weak site, and it will not sink a strong one. Choose the name for people first. Search engines follow the people.
What about international names?
About 0.44% of .com names start with "xn--". These are internationalised domain names. They store letters from other alphabets in a plain form that begins with those four characters. Browsers show the original letters.
Such names matter for brand safety. A look-alike letter from another alphabet can imitate a Latin one. The Lookalike Finder lists such variants of your brand and shows which ones are registered.
What to do if your name has a hyphen
If you already own a hyphenated name, you do not have to change it. Instead, protect it. Register the version without the hyphen if it is free. Then redirect it to your main site, so mistaken visitors still arrive.
Also say the name carefully in your ads and signatures. Write it in full, for example "blue-house.com", and avoid breaking it across lines. For help choosing a new name, see our post on how to choose a name.
Originally published at namedaemon.com/how-many-com-domains-with-hyphens-or-numbers/. NameDaemon has 18 free tools for .com names, built on the daily zone file, and the numbers are on the State of .com page.
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