Syllable counter
How many beats does your name take to say? Type a name, or paste a shortlist, and see the count with the syllables broken out — ending included. northwind.com is “north · wind”, two syllables; northwind.io is five, because somebody has to say “dot i o” out loud.
Type a name to count its syllables.
Compounds are split into their words, and the ending is counted too — except “.com”, which listeners fill in without being told. Nothing is stored.
How the count is made
The words
Compounds are split into the words they are made of, so “northwind” counts as “north” plus “wind”. Each word is counted from its vowel sounds, minus the two English traps: a silent final “e” (“make” is one syllable, “table” is two) and an “-ed” nobody pronounces (“moved” is one, “wanted” is two).
The ending
“.com” is free — listeners supply it, so it is not counted at all. Every other ending has to be said, which costs a “dot” plus the ending itself: “dot i o” is three syllables, and a two-part ending like “.co.uk” is five. Endings people spell out (“io”, “uk”, “tv”) are counted letter by letter; pronounceable ones (“shop”, “dev”) are counted as words.
This is an estimate, not a pronunciation. The split is the reading English uses most — a consonant between two vowel sounds usually opens the next syllable, a doubled letter closes the one before, and blends like “br” and “str” stay together — but plenty of words divide either way (“his-to-ry” or “hist-o-ry”). A final “e” that is actually sounded — “acme”, “Nike”, “recipe” — reads as silent here, and two vowel sounds written side by side can merge into one (“employee” counts as two). Stress, which is what really makes a name easy or hard to say, is not in the spelling at all. The count is the sanity check; your ear is the tiebreaker.
Why it matters when you buy a name
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One to two syllables
Sits in the ear after one hearing, which is the whole radio test. Most names that survive word of mouth are short when said, whatever they look like on the page.
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Three syllables
Workable, especially for compounds: people already know the words, so the length is carried by the meaning rather than by memory.
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Four or more
Needs a reason — and usually a short form. Add a spelled-out ending like “.io” and a five-syllable name becomes eight on the phone.
Syllables are half of the story: whether people can spell what they heard is the other half. Score the name and the two pages together tell you what it costs to say and to find.
Name tools
Checking whether people can spell, type, and find the name.