The names of Linux distributions

We all know the names of Linux distributions, at least the main ones.  What is not so well known is where they come from. In this article we are going to tell you what is the origin of the name of some of them.

It is true that in some cases the name is descriptive of the target such as Scientific Linux or Ubuntu Studio and in others it is a combination of the name of the developers, but there are also others where the relationship is more difficult to discover.

The names of Linux distributions

Debian

Debian is a great distribution if you are looking for stability and security. But, their versions are as exciting as a boiled potato. This is noticeable in the choice of the name of the distribution and the logo.

The name is the combination of the first name of the girlfriend of the creator of the project (Debra) and the developer himself (Ian). The versions are named after characters from the Toy Story movies and the unstable branch is named Sid after the character who invariably destroyed his toys.

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a word of Bantu origin. It is made up of two parts: the root ntu and the prefix ubu. Ntu could be translated as "object", while ubu means "human". It is interpreted as a definition of what defines us as human. Today he describes an African philosophy that is based on respect for other people as a way of showing respect for oneself.

In the help of the old versions of Ubuntu came a synthesis of that philosophy made by Desmond Tutu, historical fighter against Apartheid. As a curious fact, that quote was parodied by the now-defunct The Freedom Blog. That site made a mockery of the US conservative media and from time to time lampooned Steve Ballmer's anti-free software diatribes. In one entry he said verbatim "Ubuntu is an African word that can be translated as I'm going to rape your children."

Ubuntu version names are composed of an adjective and an animal and it is about describing the features that the new version is expected to have.

Manjaro

This distribution derived from Arch Linux owes its name to Mount Kilimanjaro. Kilimanjaro is a snow-capped volcano that, with its 5895 meters of altitude, became the highest mountain in Africa. Apparently the creator of the project scaled it.

Red Hat

IBM's Linux distribution owes its name to a custom from the university times of the creator. When he went to the computer lab of the faculty he wore the red hat of Lacrosse (A very popular sport in some regions of the USA) of his grandfather. If anyone had any questions the advice was "Ask the red cap."

Fedora

If you google the first reference to Fedora it is a Russian name meaning "gift from God". Nevertheless, the origin of the name of this distribution has more to do with being based on Red Hat. The logo of said distribution is a hat known as Fedora. The fedora is a flexible, short-brimmed hat originating in Italy.

Linux Mint

In this case we have the written explanation of the keyboard from the creator of the distro, so let's quote it:

Long story… I was writing articles/tutorials for linuxforums.org for a while and in the end i decided to publish them myself so i needed a .com and i thought of a name. Mint is cold, it's short, it's fresh, it's easy to write and remember and in English it even means “cool”, “good condition”, “perfect”, etc… I also liked the way Linux was associated with poles , penguins, ice… the way a pristine core was called “vanilla”… and so Mint came close to all of that. A big name, no particular meaning...just a series of nice subjective associations, I suppose.

It also explains why the versions have female names:

It is about highlighting the relationship between the user and the object and the affection that an owner can have for what he is passionate about. For many, Linux is more than just a useful operating system, it's also a hobby and there is interest and passion in distro-hopping and discovering, adopting and spending time with a new version. I wanted something that would be easy to remember, that would evoke affection and personify the object itself. Just as a sailor gives his ship a name and refers to it as "she", I wanted that kind of connotation with the Mint releases.