Wait, if it was only firstname.lastname.name, how was he able to register firstnamelastname.name? Does it let you register 2nd level domains if you get there before someone else registers a 3rd level domain that uses the 2nd level domain that you want to register?
I don't know the history of when the offerings were available, but I initially bought my-first-name.my-rare-last-name.name, and fortunately nobody else bought another-name.my-rare-last-name.name, and I was able to let mine lapse then buy my-rare-last-name.name.