Top-level domain (TLD) occupies the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For instance, in the domain name www.example.com, the top-level domain is “com”.
Currently, the ATHLETA is not a recognized Top Level Domain (TLD). There are approximately 1,500 TLDs as reported by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is the organization responsible for coordinating and maintaining the procedures and namespaces of the Internet, yet ATHLETA isn’t one of them as of the current database.
The TLD “.athleta” does not fall into any of the recognized categories enforced by ICANN: generic TLDs (gTLDs), country-code TLDs (ccTLDs), infrastructure top-level domain, and sponsored top-level domains (sTLDs). An example of gTLDs would be “.com,” “.org,” and “.net”; ccTLDs include “.us” (United States), “.fr” (France), etc.; infrastructure TLD is “.arpa,” and “.edu” is an example of sTLDs. These categories encompass the majority of officially recognized TLDs as noted by ICANN.
The reference to “Athleta” most likely relates to Athleta Inc., an American sportswear retailer that is part of The Gap, Inc organization. The company’s website utilizes the gTLD “.com” (www.athleta.com), following the traditional internet standard. The usage of a business’s name as a TLD isn’t standard, as there are strict regulations around obtaining a unique TLD, primarily requiring the exclusive rights to that name or term.
The process of applying for a custom TLD is a rigorous one. According to ICANN, an applicant must undergo a stringent evaluation process and pay an evaluation fee. If the proposed TLD is a brand or trademark, the organization must prove that they have exclusive rights to the name, among many other technical, operational, and financial conditions.
To give another example, Google applied and obtained “.google” as part of their brand TLD, so domains like www.search.google are possible. However, these personalized TLDs remain under the control of the applying organization and don’t become publicly available for registration.
In conclusion, although it is technically possible to achieve the “.athleta” TLD, it currently doesn’t exist among the recognized TLDs by ICANN as there hasn’t been any reported attempts by Athleta Inc. to pursue such a unique domain.
Sources used:
- Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
- Athleta’s official website
- Google’s application for “.google” TLD
- Description of the DNS from ICANN’s website.
