The term domain name has multiple related meanings: It can refer to a unique name that identifies a computer or computers on the Internet. These names appear as a component of a website Universal Resource Locator (URL), such as 'subdomain.domain.com'. This type of domain name is also called a hostname. Domain names also the product that domain name registrars (retailers of domain names) provide to their customers. These names are often called registered domain names. Domain names are also used for other purposes in the Domain Name System (DNS) – for example the special name which follows the @ sign in an email address, or the Top-level domain names like .com. Domain names are often referred to simply as domains and domain name registrants are frequently referred to as domain owners, although domain names, technically, are leased from a domain name registrar. Read the full background at Domain Names Wikipedia