$percol = ceil($numtotal/5); //if 5 is how many column you want

$table = '<table width="100%">';

for($c = 0; $c < 5; $c++)
{
    $table .= '<tr>';
    for($i = 0; $i < $percol; $i++)
    {
        $current = ($c*$percol)-$i; //the number of items we've processed
        if($current <= $numtotal) //if we're not finished yet
            $table .= '<td>Whatever you need.</td>';
        else
            break; //we're done? oh.. ok, let's kill the loop
    }
    $table .= '</tr>';
}
$table .= '</table>';

<table border=1><tr>
<?
$count = 0;
$max = 4;
while(your loop){
$count++;
echo '<td>'.$count.' record stuff </td>';

if($count >= $max){
  //reset counter
   $count = 0;
  //end and restart
   echo '</tr><tr>';
}

}
?>
</tr></table>

if (isset($_GET['searchname']))
              {
                if (isset($_GET['byname']))
                  {
                    if (strlen($_GET['searchname'])>0)
                      {
                        echo '<p>Search for domains containing <span style="color:#ff0000;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:underline;">"' . $_GET['searchname'] . '"</span>.</p>';
                        $search_name_query="SELECT id, name FROM domains where name LIKE '%" . $_GET['searchname'] . "%'";
                        $search_name_result=mysql_query($search_name_query) or die (mysql_error());
                        // Use result
                        // Set column count
                        $columns = 2;
                        $rowCount = mysql_num_rows($search_name_result);
                        echo '<p>There are currently <span style="color:#ff0000;font-weight:bold;text-decoration:underline;">' . $rowCount . '</span> domains that match your search criteria. Please select from the following:</p>';
                        // Calculate how many records per column
                        $html = '<table width="100%"><tr>';
                        $x = 1;
                        while ($search_name_row = mysql_fetch_assoc($search_name_result))
                          {
                            $html .= '<td width="50%"><a href="details.php?domainid=' . $search_name_row['id'] . '">' . $search_name_row['name'] . '</a></td>';
                            $html .= ($x++ % $columns == 0) ? '</tr><tr>' : '';
                          }
                        $html .= '</tr></table>';
                        echo $html;
                        mysql_free_result($search_name_result);
                      }

                    else
                      {
                        echo '<p style="color:#ff0000;font-weight:bold;">Please type in all or part of a domain name to complete your search.</p>';
                      }
                  }
              }