If the 2017–2021 cycle rewarded novelty—coined blends, playful syllables, and “techy” orthography—the last two years have been moving in the opposite direction. The market is steadily rediscovering semantic density: domains that carry intrinsic meaning in real language. At the same time, the historical pricing gulf between very short names and longer names (10–12 characters) has narrowed, at least cyclically. This is not a paradox. It reflects a maturing digital economy where recognizability, trust, and linguistic resonance are outperforming sheer brevity.
In this essay, I’ll show how the length premium has compressed, why meaning is the new scarcity, and what that implies for serious investors and brand builders.
1) What changed: the great compression of the length premium
Historically, the price slope vs. length was steep: each additional character shaved value. That’s still structurally true over long horizons, but it’s less dominant month-to-month than it used to be. Using my September 2025 dataset, we can trace real medians by length (5–12 letters), aggregated across groups (.COM, Tech, Regional) and weighted by observed count. The curve is recognizably downward—but flatter than the 2019–2022 period.
Figure 1 — Weighted median by length (September 2025)
The line still slopes downward (shorter = higher median), but the gradient is modest. This matches what the composite elasticity (β) time series has signaled across 2023–2025: length matters, but less so in the current cycle. In other words, shorter names still command a premium, just not as much as they did during prior peaks of “brevity worship.”
Why would the premium flatten?
- Naming pragmatism. Many startups accept an 8–10 letter meaningful word over a short but opaque string, especially when conversion is driven by search and brand narrative rather than type-in traffic.
- AI-era brand acceptance. As AI reshapes product categories rapidly, companies are picking names that explain themselves rather than names that merely look short.
- Investor rotation. In slow quarters, investors recycle liquidity into recognizable words, not necessarily the shortest inventory.
All three are manifestations of a deeper shift: meaning is retaking the driver’s seat.
2) Why semantic density outperforms novelty
By semantic density, I mean words whose root, etymology, or common usage transparently communicates value: valor, maxima, aurum, flora, axis, nexus, credit, ledger, nova, lumen. These names perform better not because they’re trendy, but because they compress:
- Meaning (users instantly “get” the category or promise),
- Trust (familiar forms reduce friction and perceived risk), and
- Memorability (recognizable lexemes stick even after first exposure).
In saturated digital markets, every click is expensive. A name that already feels true to the user’s mental model lowers acquisition costs. That’s why semantic density behaves like economic gravity: in periods of rationalization, it pulls capital back from novelty towards meaning.
To see the cycle-level lens, look at the composite length elasticity (β) over time. When β trends toward zero, it’s a sign that the market is rewarding language quality (meaning, coherence) at least as much as sheer brevity.
Figure 2 — Composite length elasticity (β), 2023–2025
A β that is small (or briefly near zero) doesn’t mean length “no longer matters.” It means that marginal length isn’t the primary driver in that interval. What’s doing the work? In 2024–2025, the answer has increasingly been semantic clarity.
3) What the September 2025 cross-section shows
September 2025’s per-length medians (Figure 1) indicate that:
- Short names still clear at a premium relative to longer names.
- The premium curve is flatter than earlier cycles; the 8–10 character band performs surprisingly well when the words are strong.
- A meaningful 8-letter word can be closer in price to a 6-letter invented blend than at any time in recent years.
This is consistent with the elasticity time series (Figure 2). In parts of 2025, the β drifted toward zero—evidence of temporary convergence between short and longer meaningful words.
4) Why meaning beats novelty now (and likely for a while)
4.1 Trust economics
The cost of customer acquisition has risen substantially in the past two years. Marketers can’t rely on cheap clicks; retention happens when the promise is legible. Words with authentic semantic freight reduce friction at every marketing touchpoint.
4.2 Cognitive fluency
There’s a large literature on processing fluency: familiar forms feel more credible and are recalled better. A Latin, Greek, or common-English root maps to stored patterns in memory; made-up strings do not.
4.3 AI-driven clarity
Ironically, as AI tools generate oceans of naming options, human vetting is gravitating to classical roots that anchor meaning. Generative systems can suggest thousands of “novel” strings, but decision-makers still pick words that sound true.
4.4 Liquidity under uncertainty
When market conditions tighten, investors prefer inventory that everyone recognizes as quality. Meaning-rich names are simply easier to sell across cycles.
5) A likely cyclical path: compression now, re-expansion later
The current compression (narrower length premium) is not permanent. Two mechanisms can widen the spread again:
- Venture acceleration. When funding cycles heat up, short, category-defining names regain their “land-grab” premium. The slope steepens as buyers chase scarcity.
- Platform realignments. Major shifts in search or social—anything that increases the value of type-in and shareability—lift shorter, cleaner forms.
In short: expect oscillation, not a one-way trend. The fundamental truth remains: brevity and meaning are complementary. In down cycles or rational phases, meaning dominates; in growth spikes, brevity surges.
6) Practical guidance for investors and operators
6.1 Curate for meaning first, brevity second.
An 8-letter, semantically potent .com frequently outperforms a 6-letter opaque string—especially now.
6.2 Use band medians, not anecdotes.
Per-length medians (5–12) per group are the correct lens for real pricing power. Avoid cherry-picked sales.
6.3 Track elasticity monthly.
β is your leading indicator. When it lifts (more negative), accelerate short-name acquisitions; when it flattens, rotate into meaning-dense words.
6.4 Don’t conflate Tech extension momentum with semantics.
When .ai momentum cools, meaningful .coms often retain value better than novelty in any extension.
6.5 Liquidity discipline.
During flat-β phases, exit profile improves for meaning-dense assets across 8–10 characters. Use that to recycle inventory.
7) Methodological clarity (what these figures are—and aren’t)
- Figure 1 is computed from my September 2025 Results – Detailed output, aggregating per-length medians (5–12) weighted by observed counts across .COM, Regional, and Tech.
- Figure 2 is the composite β series from my Per-Month Betas workbook; months are plotted exactly as recorded.
- Where multi-year narratives are discussed, they refer to directional patterns observed in your data—no synthetic numbers were introduced.
This is important. If the semantics vs. novelty claim cannot be supported numerically in a given month, I say so and keep it qualitative. Authenticity matters.
8) The thesis in one sentence
In an AI-saturated, trust-constrained web, the last scarce resource is meaning; domains that carry it will, over time, outperform those that do not.
9) What to watch next (for readers of Valora Maxima)
The monthly β (composite and by group).
The band medians for 8–10 vs. 5–7; when the gap widens, brevity is back in charge; when it narrows, semantics are leading.
Any shifts in .COM vs. Tech vs. Regional that map to category demand rather than hype.
