The mystery of the familiar symbol '.com': The true meaning solved after 39 years

".com" - the most popular domain name extension has been around since the early days of the Internet. But the meaning behind its origin has left many internet users scratching their heads in search of answers.

Perhaps few people expect that the origin of the domain name ".com" is a mystery to many Internet users, even though it has been around since the mid-1980s. On January 1, 1985, ".com" was born along with other first domain names such as: edu, gov, mil, net, org and int.

Originally, '.com' was intended to be reserved for companies that operated online, specifically for subdomains of these companies. But it was later expanded for general use and became the most commonly used domain extension today.

The ".com" domain name has been around since the mid-1980s. (Photo: Wix)

Recently, on the Reddit forum, many users questioned the popularity of this domain name. One user wondered: "Explain it to me like a 5-year-old: What is the significance of having '.com' in the address bar? And is there any difference if we use '.edu', '.org' or '.io' which I see appearing more and more?".

According to the Ionos Digital Guide, a website that provides information about domain names and web hosting, ".com" stands for "commercial." The website also notes that "Everyone is familiar with '.com,' but many Internet users don't know what it stands for." RFC 920 from October 1984 also designated ".com" as "commercial."

However, Jack Haverty, a former Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) employee and early Internet veteran, believes that ".com" may have originally stood for "company." "In the '80s and '90s, the Internet 'wasn't built to connect businesses,'" he said.

Even so, 39 years later, 'commercial' is still the most common meaning associated with '.com .' On the Reddit forum, one user explained: 'Each of these extensions is called a domain name and is a way to categorize information on the Internet, letting you know what kind of website you're visiting and who runs it. '.com' helps you understand that whatever website you're visiting is run by a company or business, so think of '.com' as the company.'

Each of these extensions is called a domain name and is a way to categorize information on the Internet. (Photo: Nindohost)

"' .edu' stands for 'education' and indicates that the site belongs to a college or university. '.org' refers to an organization, usually a non-profit. Nowadays , a domain like '.io' is just a popular domain name, technically serving no real purpose. You often see '.io' in startups and indie games," the person added.

Another user also shared: "In the US, it used to be just '.gov' (government website) , '.net' (network or general-purpose website), '.org' (organization), '.com' (company), and '.edu' (education, like school or university). However, about a year or two ago, that changed when people started being able to put anything at the end of the address. Now, they don't mean much anymore."