Google.com was registered on September 15: How the Future Tech Giant Was Created
On September 15, 1997, the Google.com domain—one of the most famous addresses in the history of the Internet—was registered. At that time, the future tech giant was just a research project by two Stanford University students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Google Inc. was not officially established until 1998, and Google traditionally celebrates its birthday on September 27.
On September 15, 1997, the google.com domain was registered. This date is often cited in Google’s early history, although it is incorrect to refer to it as the company’s official birthday. At that time, Google was not yet a massive corporation with a search engine, maps, email, a video service, and its own smartphones. Larry Page and Sergey Brin were graduate students at Stanford University and were working on search technology.
They were interested in making internet searches more accurate. Search engines at the time largely ranked pages based on how many times a specific word appeared on them. Page and Brin proposed a different approach—taking into account the connections between web pages and the links pointing to them. This is how PageRank technology came about. The idea was that links from important and authoritative sites could serve as a signal that another page also deserves attention. Initially, the search engine operated under the name BackRub. Later, the name was changed to Google. The Google.com domain was registered on September 15, 1997.
Why “Google”?
The name Google is derived from the mathematical term “googol.” This is the name given to a number equal to one followed by one hundred zeros. For the future search engine, this name was a perfect fit for the concept. The founders wanted to convey the enormous volume of information their system would have to handle.
The name “Google” came about after a misspelling of the word “googol.” However, it was this version that stuck. Over time, the short word “Google” became one of the most famous brands in the world. And the phrase “to Google” has become a common term in many languages for searching for information on the internet.
When Was Google Actually Founded?
It’s important to distinguish between several different dates here.
September 15, 1997 — the registration of the Google.com domain. This date is directly linked to the creation of the famous web address.
September 4, 1998—Google Inc. was officially incorporated as a company. That is why 1998 is considered the year Google was founded.
And on September 27, Google has traditionally celebrated its birthday for many years. The company itself acknowledges that there is some confusion regarding the exact date. Google has explained that the company’s founding date is a matter of debate, but September 27 has become the customary date for celebration. Therefore, September 15 is more accurately described as the anniversary of the registration of the Google.com domain, rather than the company’s official birthday.
How Two Students Created the Future Tech Giant
Google’s story began when Larry Page and Sergey Brin met at Stanford University. They were working on web research and trying to figure out how to organize the vast amount of information online. Their approach differed from what was customary for search engines at the time. Gradually, the experimental project turned into a real business. One of the first investors was Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim. He wrote Page and Brin a check for $100,000 even before Google Inc. legally existed.
This created a funny problem: the check was made out to Google Inc., even though no such legal entity existed at the time. The founders first had to incorporate the company so they could use the money. In 1998, Google began operating as a company. Its first office was set up in the garage of a house in Menlo Park that belonged to the founders’ friend, Susan Wojcicki. Thus began the story of a company that, in just a few years, transformed from a small startup into one of the major players in the global technology industry.
How Google Celebrates Its Anniversaries
Google has its own way of celebrating important dates—Google Doodles. These are special versions of the logo on the search engine’s homepage. Doodles can be dedicated to holidays, historical events, famous people, scientific discoveries, or important anniversaries. Often, it’s not just a modified logo, but a short animation, a game, or an interactive story.
Google also creates special Doodles for its own anniversaries. For example, in 2023, the company celebrated its 25th anniversary and displayed an animated logo that changed to show different versions of Google from previous years. In 2018, Google celebrated its 20th anniversary. At the time, the company explicitly noted that it was celebrating its birthday on September 27, even though the history of its founding includes several important dates. Therefore, Google’s celebrations are not a traditional holiday with a single set of rules. The main tradition involves a special search engine design, interesting historical content, and reflections on how technology has evolved.
Interesting Facts About Google
One of the most interesting facts is that Google was originally called BackRub. This name stemmed from the fact that the system analyzed links between websites. Later, the name was dropped, and the world got Google.
Another interesting fact is that Google’s first server was assembled from parts that bore little resemblance to modern server systems. Google recalls that the founders even built the early server using LEGO bricks.
At first, Google was just a search engine. Over time, an entire ecosystem of services and products grew up around it.
In 2005, the company launched Google Maps, and in 2006, it acquired YouTube. In 2016, Google introduced its own line of Pixel smartphones. These milestones became part of a much larger story of the company’s development.
Another important element of Google’s history is its logo. The iconic design was created by designer Ruth Kedar, who worked on the brand’s visual identity alongside Page and Brin. Her design eventually became one of the most recognizable logos in the world.
Why This Date Is Important
September 15 marks the moment when the soon-to-be Google received its main web address. At the time, no one could have known exactly how important it would become for billions of people. Today, searching for information on Google has become a routine part of everyday life. People use it to find news, recipes, directions, educational materials, products, movies, and answers to a wide variety of questions.
Over nearly three decades, the internet itself has changed dramatically. Along with it, Google has also evolved—from a small search project started by students to a major tech company with numerous services. That’s why, on September 15, 2026, Google.com will celebrate its 29th anniversary. And on September 27, Google will traditionally celebrate the anniversary of its founding as a company. The history of this date shows that behind great tech products there’s often a fairly simple idea. In Google’s case, it was an attempt to help people find the information they needed more quickly in the ever-expanding world of the internet.
