Bust a Name was a free domain tool built around a word combiner. You typed a few words, sorted them into groups, and it listed the two-word .com names that were still free. Simon Willison linked to it in August 2007 as an Ajax domain search, and a 2010 walkthrough describes saved sessions and a registrar dropdown for buying. A later "Bust A Name Domain Maker" launch on Product Hunt dates from August 19, 2015.
As of November 2026, neither bustaname.com nor www.bustaname.com loads; both time out. That may be a temporary outage, but no recent notice explains it, and you cannot generate names on a site that does not answer. The seven tools below still run and check availability as they suggest names. They are ordered by how close they come to Bust a Name's combine-my-words workflow.
Prices below are as of November 6, 2026. Our method is on How we review tools.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Price | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lean Domain Search | One keyword paired with common words | Free | Web |
| NameBounce | Locking one word and varying the rest | Free | Web |
| Instant Domain Search | Fast checks across 800+ extensions | Free | Web |
| Namecheap Beast Mode | Checking a long list of combinations at once | Free search | Web, desktop and mobile |
| DomainWheel | Rhymes and sound-alike ideas | Free | Web |
| Namelix | Invented brand names with a logo preview | Free (logos from $35) | Web |
| Domainr | One exact word across many endings | Free search | Web, API via Fastly |
Lean Domain Search
Bust a Name made you supply both halves of a name. Lean Domain Search supplies the second half for you. Its FAQ says it pairs your phrase with common domain keywords and checks .com and .blog, with clicking a name triggering a fresh check. The same FAQ admits about 1 in 20 results is wrong because of caching.
Automattic owns it, and the site signs itself "An Automattic Jam". Results come in Top results, Exact match and More suggestions blocks, with an Add to cart button on each name; .com suggestions are $13 as of November 2026. For the full history and other options, see our Lean Domain Search alternatives.
Best for: Founders with one strong keyword who want a fast list of available two-word .com names.
Pricing:
- Search: free
- Registration goes through WordPress.com; .com suggestions are priced at $13
Watch out for:
- There is no word grouping, sorting or filtering, so you cannot combine two lists of your own words the way Bust a Name did.
- Every Add to cart button leads to WordPress.com, per the FAQ, so buying elsewhere means copying the name by hand.
Official site: Lean Domain Search.
NameBounce
Fixing one word and rotating another was the point of Bust a Name's word groups. NameBounce does it with a lock: pin the first, second or third word and it fills the open slots. Two-word input needs a space between the words.
- Extensions offered: .com, .net, .org, .ai, .co, .io, plus 16 more such as .app, .dev, .shop and .co.uk.
- A no-extension mode suggests names without checking any domain.
- The FAQ calls the generator 100% free.
Best for: Naming sessions where one word is fixed, such as a product noun, and the other is open.
Pricing:
- Free, per the FAQ on namebounce.com
- The site promotes a 30% Tailor Brands discount, an affiliate offer
Watch out for:
- NameBounce does not explain how names are generated or where its domain discount link sends you.
Official site: NameBounce.
Instant Domain Search
Results appear as you type, across 800+ extensions, with no account. The generator adds prefixes, suffixes and modifiers to each keyword, which the page puts at 100+ permutations per keyword, and filters them by Available, Premium, Aftermarket or Taken.
The home page adds WHOIS lookup, bulk checks and a trademark search. Its FAQ gives typical yearly prices of $8 to $15 for .com, .net and .org, $25 to $50 for .io and $50 to $90 for .ai, set by whichever registrar you pick.
Best for: Checking many endings for a name in seconds, then comparing registrars.
Pricing:
- Search and generator: free, no signup
- Earns referral fees from registrars; typical .com cost $8 to $15 per year per the FAQ
Watch out for:
- The generator page says it does not check trademarks, so an open domain can still clash with a registered brand.
Official site: Instant Domain Search.
Namecheap Beast Mode
Build your combinations in a spreadsheet, then paste them in. Beast Mode takes up to 5,000 keywords or domains per search, or a CSV of the same size, and checks them together. Namecheap launched it in June 2019.
Built-in prefix and suffix lists cover the common add-ons, and a domain hack finder suggests names that use the extension as part of the word. A price range filter and a hide-premium switch keep the list inside your budget.
Best for: Anyone who already has a long list of word pairs and wants every one checked in one pass.
Pricing:
- All Beast Mode search features: free
- Domain prices appear per result and at checkout, not on the feature page
Watch out for:
- It will not combine two word lists for you. You generate the pairs yourself first.
- Results check out through Namecheap only.
Official site: Namecheap Beast Mode.
DomainWheel
When every obvious pair is gone, DomainWheel helps you find a new starting word. Next to its AI suggestions it shows Sounds Like, Rhymes With and Random Suggestions lists, and clicking a word in them runs a new search.
Themeisle, the WordPress theme company, makes it. A Select Filter control includes or drops extensions, and there is no signup.
Best for: Breaking out of a crowded keyword with rhymes and sound-alikes.
Pricing:
- Free, no signup, per domainwheel.com
Watch out for:
- View Details offers registration and hosting options without naming the registrar on the home page. Check the destination before you pay.
Official site: DomainWheel.
Namelix
Namelix invents words instead of joining real ones. Brandmark.io built it on its own language model, and it learns from the names you save. The app asks for a style first: Brandable, Evocative, Short phrase, Compound words, Alternate spelling, Non-English words or Real words.
Pick Compound words and you get the closest thing to Bust a Name output. Each result shows if the domain is open, and any name can become a logo draft.
Best for: Startups that want a short, coined brand name rather than two dictionary words.
Pricing:
- Name generation: free
- Brandmark logo packages, one-time: Basic $35, Designer $95, Enterprise $195
Watch out for:
- Alternate spelling and Non-English styles give names that are hard to spell after hearing them once, the problem Lean Domain Search's radio test warns about.
Official site: Namelix.
Domainr
Use Domainr after you have a word, not before. Search "coffee" and it lists coffee.com, coffee.house, coffee.shop and other endings, then sends you to the registrar you choose. Fastly owns it, and its subsidiary Domain Research, LLC is ICANN accredited, per the about page.
The same lookups are sold to website builders and registrars as the Fastly Domain Research API. That is the main focus of the home page today.
Best for: Finding which new endings are open for a single word you have already picked.
Pricing:
- Search: free; Domainr earns a commission on purchases
- API: "Try for Free at Fastly", no public per-request price
Watch out for:
- It does not pair words, so it will not produce lists of two-word .com ideas.
- Search sits behind a Search All Domains button on a page that mostly pitches the API.
Official site: Domainr.
How to choose
| If you need | Pick |
|---|---|
| A keyword paired with common words, ready to buy | Lean Domain Search |
| Fix one word and vary the other, like Bust a Name's groups | NameBounce |
| Instant results across hundreds of extensions | Instant Domain Search |
| Check thousands of pairs you built in a spreadsheet | Namecheap Beast Mode |
| New starting words when the obvious ones are taken | DomainWheel |
| A coined brand name and a logo draft | Namelix |
| Every ending for one exact word | Domainr |
When to stay with Bust a Name
If bustaname.com comes back and your saved sessions are still there, there is little reason to leave. Its word groups remain a cleaner way to combine two lists than anything above. Until it loads again, NameBounce plus a Beast Mode bulk check covers the same job.
Frequently asked questions
Does Bust a Name still work?
Not as of November 2026. Both bustaname.com and www.bustaname.com time out without loading. AlternativeTo still lists it as a free online tool and does not mark it discontinued, so the outage may be temporary.
What is a free domain name generator like Bust a Name?
NameBounce is the closest in behaviour because you can lock a word in place. Lean Domain Search is quicker if you only have one keyword. Both are free and check availability as they list names.
How do I combine two lists of words into domain names?
Put list A in one spreadsheet column and list B in another, join every pair with a formula, then paste the result into Namecheap Beast Mode, which checks up to 5,000 entries per search. For the matching social handles, see our Namechk alternatives. To buy a ready-made brandable name, try our Brandbucket alternatives.
