September 15, 1997: Google.com Was Registered And The Internet Changed Forever

Google.com recently marked its 29th anniversary, nearly three decades after the domain was registered on September 15, 1997. Created by Stanford students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the domain was secured more than a year before Google was officially founded, laying the foundation for what would become the world's most popular search engine.

At the time, Page and Brin were working on a search engine that was initially known as "Backrub". They later chose the name Google, inspired by the mathematical term "googol", which represents the number 10 to the power of 100. The name reflected their aim of organising the world's information and making it accessible to everyone.

Google was officially founded on September 4, 1998. Shortly before that, Page and Brin received a $100,000 investment from Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim. The money helped the young company move from its early days in student accommodation to an office in a Menlo Park garage.

Nearly three decades later, Google.com is the world's most-visited website and one of the most influential addresses on the internet. People Magazine reported that, as of June 2026, it was ranked as the world's most visited website by Semrush.

Google has since expanded far beyond its original search engine. Its products include Gmail, Google Maps, Google Chrome, Google Earth and Android.

In 2015, Google became part of Alphabet following a major corporate restructuring. Page and Brin later stepped down from their leadership roles at Alphabet in 2019.

The word "Google" has also become part of everyday language. It is listed as a verb in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, referring to using the Google search engine to find information online.