International Star Registry

International Star Registry of Illinois was started in Toronto in 1979 by Ivor Downie, and is thought to be the earliest commercial star naming company. That year, the Toronto International Film Festival announced that it had purchased the naming rights to stars in the Andromeda Galaxy from the company, and would be naming them after festival patrons. In 1980, John and Phyllis Mosele bought an American franchise of the company. Phyllis had first learned of the company when she named a star for her husband as a gift.

The American company quickly grew in popularity, appearing on AM Chicago and Wally Phillips' WGN Morning Show. The Moseles purchased sole ownership in 1981 after Downie's death. The present owner of the company is Rocky Mosele, one of John and Phyllis Mosele's twelve children. The company has published nine large volumes of the copyrighted book named Your Place in the Cosmos.

After the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the city of Daytona Beach named a star after each of the seven astronauts who died in the accident through the ISR.

In 1998, International Star Registry was issued a complaint by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs for deceptive advertising for claiming "official" naming rights. The Illinois Attorney General later found that the company had done no wrongdoing. International Star Registry's FAQ states that only the International Astronomical Union has the right to name stars.

In 1999, the Delaware Museum of Natural History held a contest to name the star TYC 3429-697-1 in the Ursa Major constellation, after the museum purchased naming rights from International Star Registry. The star was named the "Delaware Diamond", derived from Delaware's nickname "The Diamond State". Despite the nickname not having any scientific validity, a bill recognizing it as the official star of the State of Delaware was passed unanimously by the Delaware General Assembly in 2000.

International Star Registry named a star after each victim of the September 11 attacks as a memorial.

John Smith's Brewery named stars in a pint glass-shaped constellation after fans who won a competition in 2015. As of 2017, the company had reportedly named over two million stars names.

Jack in the Box partnered with the company to nickname a constellation, shaped like the fast food chain's mascot, after various food items offered by the franchise. The promotion was intended to celebrate the dual occurrence of Star Wars Day and National Space Day in May 2018. That same year, the company ran a promotion with the Sprint Corporation for customers who purchased a Samsung Galaxy S9 or S9+.