Photo by darkpatator.

You can still find a decent domain name ... without going crazy.

Then get red in the face as you repeat this search process a hundred times attempting to find a name that isn’t complete gibberish and/or 5 words long. Next time you’re in the market for a domain name, check out this crop of domain name generators and search tools that that will make your life way easier.

BustAName.com

BustAName.com - Domain name generator

Whoever is behind BustAName.com deserves a small shiny statue made of precious metals. BustAName makes you feel like you are always making progress towards an available name, which almost makes the process fun.  Web usability guru Steve Krug once observed that we humans tend to “muddle through” the web — and we actually don’t mind doing so — so long as we feel we are making progress towards our intended goal.  BustAName will quickly give you that sense of moving forward towards a decent and available domain name as you creatively muddle through all the ones that are already taken.

Visit BustAName.com

MakeWords.com

MakeWords.com - Powerful domain name generator

MakeWords.com is almost as impressive and powerful as BustAName and it only took second by a hair due to a lack of any realtime searching features.  MakeWords took a slightly different approach is a very powerful tool for quickly generating and screening domain names.  This tool can save you hours of your time and help you get into a domain name sooner rather than later.

Visit MakeWords.com

InstantDomainSearch.com

InstantDomainSearch.com - Real time domain searching

This site isn’t a generator but it made the list because it makes old school domain name searching look about as useful as a pair of flip-flops at the running of the bulls.  Trust me, go on and try InstantDomainSearch.com for a couple of searches and you’ll see what I mean; this thing freakin’ rocks.  From a technical point of view, it’s brilliantly executed and an impressive display of modern searching techniques in action. You can even switch modes to a secure search if yer feelin’ a little p’noid.

Visit InstandDomainSearch.com

Web 2.0 Name Generator

Web 2.0 Name Generator

The people behind this generator obviously have a sense of humor.  Not so much a domain search engine as it is a word gen, Web 2.0 Name Generator can help get your mind exploring different avenues you might not otehrwise consider on your own steam. Tambuu anyone?  What about Gabcube?  They don’t promise any of the names will be available, but the stuff this tool comes up with is fun and definitely valuable for sparking new ideas.

Visit Web 2.0 Name Generator

Got a favorite tool when it comes to cookin’ up or searching for domain names? Leave us a note in the comments.