What Are the Best Starting Numbers?

One way to determine what the best numbers are is to look at registration data for 6n.com's.  Varyemez at Namepros recently posted a list of all 6n.com domains available (236,258 in total as of December 3rd).  Looking through the list, we can see how many of each starting number are still available.  The results are striking:

Domains Starting with "0" - 23,233 Available
Domains Starting with "1" - 16,139 Available
Domains Starting with "2" - 24,020 Available
Domains Starting with "3" - 22,838 Available
Domains Starting with "4" - 50,748 Available
Domains Starting with "5" - 21,991 Available
Domains Starting with "6" - 20,650 Available
Domains Starting with "7" - 25,434 Available
Domains Starting with "8" - 13,436 Available
Domains Starting with "9" - 17,769 Available

Everyone knows that "4" is the worst number in Chinese culture.  But at the same time, it is surprising to see just how significant the taboo on this number is.  Domains that start with a "4" are 2x more likely to be available for registration than even the next "worst" option, domains that start with a "7".

On the other hand, domains that start with an "8" are the least likely to be available for registration.  This is not surprising either, as "8" is the luckiest number in Chinese culture.  However, what is somewhat surprising is that the difference between domains that start with an "8" and the next best option, domains that start with a "1", is just a few thousand registrations.  There is a preference for domains that begin with an "8", but it isn't as stark as the distaste for domains that start with a "4".