The top-level domain originally intended for commercial organizations is .com.
The label “com” is derived from “commercial,” and .com was created as one of the original generic top-level domains in 1985. Its initial purpose was to identify domains belonging to commercial entities, alongside categories such as .edu for education, .gov for government, .mil for the U.S. military, .org for organizations, and .net for network providers.
The original restriction did not last. As the Internet expanded beyond universities and government networks, .com became broadly available and was used by companies, individuals, nonprofits, schools, and other organizations. Today, owning a .com address does not prove that a site is a legally registered company.
The domain’s popularity helped create the phrase “dot-com.” During the late-1990s dot-com boom, investors poured money into Internet businesses, many of which built their brand around a .com address. The later introduction of .biz offered a more explicitly business-focused alternative, but .com remained the familiar choice.