Choosing a domain name for your product, service or business can be one of the most challenging steps in establishing your online identity. While it's important to choose your name wisely, it can be difficult to craft a creative name that describes the essence of your business.
Your name needs to be snappy, memorable and successfully communicate something about your business, and because so many top-level domains (TLDs) are already taken, it's no easy feat.
In this post, you'll discover 18 excellent tools to help you create and choose domain names, including a variety of search and suggestion web apps with a wide selection of features, so you can craft the perfect domain name.
Domainr allows you to explore the entire domain name space beyond the obvious .com, .net and .org, and discover new and interesting domain names.
It anonymously logs searches and tracks over 1,700 top-level domains and over 1300 generic TLDs, registrable at one of 219 accredited registrars. There are two external APIs for web services and client-side implementations.
Lean Domain Search's domain name generator specializes in showcasing unique and quirky domain names using prefixes and suffixes. It also checks the availability of the exact match domain for your search term.
You can easily sort and filter search results to quickly find a great domain name. You can also mark a search result as a favorite so you can keep track of it.

BustAName helps you find the perfect domain name by using its word combiner, finding similar words and checking for available domains. You can save domains for review, switch the word order to create new domains and combine up to three words. You can also create groups of words to craft domain names, use hyphens, plurals or even drop the last vowel.
Impossibility! is a domain name generator that takes your keyword and combines it with a carefully selected list of nouns, verbs and adjectives, before searching for unregistered domain names and showing you the results. It uses multiple servers to make the experience as quick as possible.
NameBoy is a domain name generator and database allowing you to perform a keyword search with either one or two words, allowing for hyphens and rhyming words.
It's simple to use: Just enter the words that describe the domain name you're looking for, and NameBoy will generate a list of potential domain names, showing which ones are available to purchase.
Domain Typer is a fast, intuitive and easy-to-use domain tool. Simply enter your domain keywords and Domain Typer will show whether that domain name is available, while also generating random domain names.
If your first choice isn't available, you can view a list of suggested domain hacks.

Name Mesh uses synonyms and antonyms paired with real-world intelligence to help you brainstorm unique domain names — using over 20 generators. You can see common short top-level domains, mix words, preserve SEO, and check related and similar words.
If you use spaces between your keywords, you'll receive improved results.
Domize offers speed and security to search domain names in an encrypted environment, as well as checking whether a domain name has been previously registered, is it due to expire or if it can be purchased. As you type the results are immediately shown below, providing instant results.
Wordoid creates made-up words, which are unique and sound and look great. Each word is no more than 10 letters long, and you can select from up to five languages, and even mix and match languages to create a unique blend.
Wordoid allows you to change the quality level from low to high — the higher the quality, the more the word resembles the natural words of the selected languages.
Dot-o-Mator lets you create domain name suggestions by selecting a list of words (e.g., colors and shapes) for the beginning and end of the domain. If you see a name you like, you can combine the two and see the result, which can then be moved to the scratchbox to check its availability.
Dot-o-Mator is also available as an iOS app for use on the go.
DomainsBot has been operating since 2004, taking your ideas and turning them into names; showing available domain suggestions; alerting you of expired, expiring and for-sale domains; and providing a Whois search.
It also offers corresponding Twitter and Facebook identity suggestions. Use the accompanying iPhone app to find great domains from the palm of your hand.
NameTumbler gives you domain names by combining a keyword you want with a word from the NameTumbler database. Once you combine words, you can choose your keyword placement (at the beginning or end of the domain). You can use hyphens to separate suggested terms, choose your extension and view the results.
NameStall offers a suite of domain tools, including a domain name generator using your preferred keywords and prefixes or suffixes from more than 180 word groups. The domain name suggestion tool recommends a combination of two or three words, as well as brandable names in five different domain categories.

Panabee provides a simple way to search for domain names, app names, and company or personal names. If your perfect name is taken, Panabee offers suggestions inspired by your original domain idea, derived from phonemes, syllables, abbreviations, suffixes, prefixes and popular trends.
Domain Puzzler lets you search and discover domain names with "easy," "advanced" and "magic" options. The "magic" option takes your keywords and combines them with popular words, while the "easy" option just lets you check for availability. The advanced option allows you to combine words and choose from your selected extensions.
SuggestName is a domain name generator that allows you to enter a prefix and suffix of your choice, combine the two and then check to see if the domain name is available. You can also choose from a list of colors, tech terms, popular Web 2.0 words and more to create your domain.
You can move the resulting words to the scratchboard and then either clear your selection of check their availability.
The domain name generator feature on Namestation allows you to combine keyword lists, add suffixes, generate phonetic names and alliterative names, and much more.
You can quickly check alternative name variations and receive keyword suggestions, look up definitions and semantically related words for more inspiration, and refine your search criteria to generate more targeted domain names.
Bulktopia provides domain name suggestions based on your keywords, along with research into potential domains, such as age, expiration, page rank, backlinks and social media account availability.
Once you have chosen a suggested domain name, you can click purchase and buy through a variety of domain registrars.
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Image: iStockphoto, mipan