Great article, Rami. It’s amazing how many Linux distros there are. I enjoyed reading about how they all got their names. I also learned about a few distros I had never heard of.

Great read.

Very nice articles .. I hope one day I find the time to try this or that distro ..

thanks for the good read ..

It’s University of California at Berkeley, not University of Berkeley

meh, lamo.. Windows is much easier to use than most of these. Long live Windows!

Significado de los nombres de las distribuciones Linux [ENG]…

Listado de las 35 distribuciones Linux más populares con el significado de sus nombres. Algunos significados son más que conocidos para la mayoría (caso de "Ubuntu") y otros fácilmente deducibles (caso de "PcLinuxOS"), pero tamb…

in distrowatch, the #5 is mint… it isnt ever show at this list =T

Sure windows will live long, it makes sure of that by buying Linux distro names like Lindows for 20 million. So yeah, I usually drop 20 million on lamo things too…then right after that I install this bloated thing called Aero on my Vista box, which tries to be like Compiz but fails horribly. Long live Vista (aka Windows ME pt deux)

Nice list, but I find it hard to believe you didn’t include ArchLinux in your list, you listed some rather smaller distros. Even distrowatch.com shows Arch placed at #20. Not that it really matters I suppose. Good article.

[...] Descobre aqui! [...]

@Obelisk and Bruno: Both of these distros were under consideration in addition to Vector Linux, however I couldn’t figure out the reasons behind the names. I tried to contact the given contacts on the respective site of each, but didn’t get any reply *yet*

If any of you know the background of the naming of these 3 distros, please stand up

The NetBSD Project is just about to have it’s 15th anniversary. Launched Apr 19, 1993, the name was chosen to represent the contributions of developers all over the Internet to the ongoing development of the BSD operating system.

Odd… I would’ve sworn gOS meant “Green OS” which would probably refer to the Everex Green PC it came with, but I can’t find it anywhere.

@Obelisk- cheers to ArchLinux!

[...] wondered where your favourite linux distro name comes from? Find yourself. Great list. April 6, 2008 | Filed Under information, [...]

Hey!
I’d like to recommend you add in your list a brazilian distro, called Kurumin. It’s an interesting name, based on some cultural stuff.

Good post, I don’t want to be too picky, but:
“3 words jammed up into one, PC + Linux + Operating System”
well PC (1) + Linux (2) + Operating (3) System (4) is 4 words, not 3

[...] ever wondered what your favorite Linux distro means, you will probably find the explanation here.read more | digg story addthis_url = [...]

[...] The number of distributions continue to grow each day – but have you wondered where the names come from? Rami provides a quick look at the etymology of several distributions. [...]

*snore*

Having a toplist of Linux distros is like having a toplist of McDonalds locations… same shit, different name.

dumb article. I hate people like you bashing MS. I bet your usin windows, your using MS products and your probably writing your aticles in MS word.

@Flonky
Have you tried Linux? I use windows, but I’ve tried Linux, and it’s not shit at all. Just because you don’t like something doesn’t make it shit.

@fenix
I know for a fact the writer uses Linux, and he’s not bashing windows, other than a slam on their name. If anything, he’s bashing the marketing team who came up with the name.

Did you even read this before you posted your comment? Or did you just see Linux and comment on it?

I use Windows, and I thought this was an interesting article.

@Luis Felipe: Definately I will look at it, please e-mail me (contact page) about the meaning of it.

TAsn: Ya your picky and I can’t count

Flonky Flonk: Obviously you didn’t read the article or even read the title, since you came over here from Digg with the assumption that the Digg title accurately reflects what this article is. This article isn’t meant to count Linux distros, but rather explain the reasons behind naming them. Hence the use of Etymology, read beyond the headline before you pass judgement.

fenix: Well your entitled to hate MS bashers. But no I am not using Windows, I washed my hands from it 3 years ago. Oh and just the fact that you think I used MS word for writing this, shows how technically gifted you are. FYI, MS Word is rarely used for web development. Oh and if you insist, I wrote this on Google docs, thank you very much.

You’re etymology for slackware is wrong. It comes from the Church of The Subgenius, whose goal is to help you achieve “slack” a state of being where you use the least amount of energy possible to drift through life

I loved this article. I read it all. Thanks.

whoops, forgive the typo i meant your

Xandros is named under its founder Alexandros Typaldos

where the fuck is arch!?

[...] 35 Distro’s of Linux So here we have a list of another top Linux distro list.  I can’t help but notice that Ubuntu is practically [...]

In the Gentoo description, “it’s” should be “its”. Other than that, a nice work!

*Ahem* Slackware was named after the mystical substance “slack”, the intangible psychic currency of the Church of the Subgenius. This is why Slackware versions of Tux often show him smoking a pipe or with “Bob Dobbs” on his chest.

Etymology of a Linux distro | Royal HeHe2-ness!…

hehe2.net — if you ever wondered what your favorite Linux distro means, you will probably find the explanation here….

Wasn’t PCLinuxOS named that way because it was distributed by PC Linux magazine?

Frugalware comes from the word frugal which means:

economical: avoiding waste;

I would add to above list also gNewSense.
Perhaps less known but very significant, “a GNU/Linux distribution, that takes all the non-free blobs out of a rather popular distribution and makes it free”.

Enjoy

Absolutely superb list.
Have used half of them.
Currently on Ubuntu.. ftw!

Good article overall, just one nitpick about your post regarding FreeBSD. FreeBSD is no sibling of Linux. The two I’m afraid aren’t even related genetic wise. BSD is generally seen as a derivative of AT&T UNIX whereas Linux was developed to mimic Unix. If anything Linux (and I use Linux based distros everyday) is the adopted sibling to BSD based operating systems.

@disgruntleddutch I totally agree with what you said, I got this comment a lot already on different social sites. But the thing is I started writing this using distrowatch.com list, half way through the list I found that there are some BSD distros on there, I decided to throw them in the mix. Maybe the title is a wee off key, but in general both Linux and BSD are more similar than not

“Wasn’t PCLinuxOS named that way because it was distributed by PC Linux magazine?”

Close. PCLinuxOnline, a popular website after which Texstar and fellows named the
distro. (Which I’m using at the moment btw.)

SLACKWARE FOR PRESIDENT

[...] Etymology of a Linux distro | Royal HeHe2-ness! Leave a Reply [...]

Just checked distrowatch.com.

You have sidux, slax and then Ubuntu Studio and PC-BSD but you skipped Vectorlinux? Weird. Oh well.

[...] in a name? April 7, 2008 at 8:43 am | In Articles | This is a nifty little article explaining the meanings behind the names of 35 of the most popular Linux [...]

[...] Etymology of a Linux distro | Royal HeHe2-ness! How the Linux distros got their name. And yes, Foresight is on their. (tags: linux) Bookmark to: Hide Sites [...]

Kubuntu actually means ‘towards humanity’
http://www.kubuntu.com/faq.php#kubuntumeaning

@Monty: I didn’t really skip Vectorlinux, I just didn’t know what it meant, and the guys behind the distro didn’t really answer my emails.

[...] Etymology of a Linux distro | Royal HeHe2-ness! (tags: linux etymology) [...]

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Fun article.

And you are on point about Microsoft taking the fun out of computing. I started with 8 bit machines where you had access to both hardware schematics, memory maps, and in some cases OS source code. In the DOS days you still had hardware specs but the software was becoming locked down, and eventually hardware and software were becoming black boxes, I pretty much gave up on hobby computers due to this, then linux came along and saved the day.

And I have to laugh at the whiny windows users posting their rants, lol, ignorance is bliss I guess.

So tell me, how does including some BSDs on a list of linux distros add diversity? It is a serious demonstration of ignorance. Why not call your article (and I use the term generously) “Etymology of An Open Source Operating System” ?

Putting operating systems that are not linux on a list of linux distros just makes you look stupid. If you wanted to spice things up, you should have done a sidebar on BSDs or something similar. However, you just threw them on the list. It shows that you don’t care enough about the subject of your work to really understand it.

Calling FreeBSD a sibling of Linux is about as meaningful as calling a Toyota a sibling of a Subaru.

Ok, enough hashing let me try it your way. Here are some suggestions for adding diversity to your list of linux distros:

* OS/2: Not really linux, but lets call it a distant great uncle.

* CP/M: Um, it has a command line, just like linux!

* AmigaDOS: Yay! Look at all the diversity on my linux list!!

* Multics: Ancient grandpappy of linux. I is good blogger! Diversity FTW!

Suggestion: another article about the logos…
Mepis is Memphis in the original intention? I don’t know, just ask…

But overall, no a so great creativity…
Windows and Apple have their great idea… When you see a window or an apple…

I thought I might point out that kubuntu’s name probably evolved in the fashion you describe, but it happens to mean “toward kumanity” in Bemban…I refer you to the wikipedia page for more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubuntu#Name

“University of Califrnia at Berkeley”. It’s spelled California.

I am really surprise at the way Oshu reacts to this article. I believe that this article was just fun and interessting. no more

I hate it that there’s always someone bashing linux users about any tiny flaw they hear about without using it themselves. The average intelligence of those people posting those type of comments is lets be nice… Below Average.

Also in case you were wondering where Windows got its name, think of this analogy… System resources are the cold air from your air-conditioner, what happens when you open the windows?

Using Ubuntu FTW!

Sorry for double-posting but after refreshing to check for typos (I know I should check before submitting).

I just wanted to let Oshu know that technically Toyota and Subaru are related, well ownership-wise anyway. Toyota has a 8.7% share in Subaru (more specifically Subaru’s parent company Fuji Heavy Industries) and they are planning to double their share very soon due to a revision of Japanese laws that will enable Toyota to own up to 17%.

I know that’s totally tangent, however I didn’t really like your examples or ignorance. As previously stated the author already said that the title is not really appropriate

“@disgruntleddutch I totally agree with what you said, I got this comment a lot already on different social sites. But the thing is I started writing this using distrowatch.com list, half way through the list I found that there are some BSD distros on there, I decided to throw them in the mix. Maybe the title is a wee off key, but in general both Linux and BSD are more similar than not”

Perhaps you should read everything first before commenting Oshu.

By the way forgot to mention it already, but great article Rami, I didn’t know a few of these distros name origins. Thanks!

Good compilation. Keep them coming.

Regards,
Sudheer

[...] Linux???????????????????????35??????Linux?BSD?????????? [...]

[...] budi lijen Rami Taibah s hehe2.net-a sastavio je popis 35 razli?itih distribucija, ukratko ih opisao te ako je to poznato dodao porijeklo nastanka njihovih naziva. Dodajem još [...]

@Oshu
Here’s some diversity for you: You’re a dick.

[...] Para ver la lista completa, visitad la página de Royal HeHe2-no [...]

What about Arch Linux?!

Although Will Roseman did pick Andros as the isle to be used in the name, that name was taken. I suggested we put an “X” at the front. Although we were investors in Metrolink (heavily involved in X-windows), X-windows was not behind choosing “X”. I chose the “X” much more randomly to just sound and look good.

Great List!!

arch linux is missing…

[...] Aqui pueden checar la lista completa y los significados [...]

[...] is from Royal HEHE2-ness! By Rami [...]

I thought Ubuntu was an old African word for “I can’t install Debian”.

nitpick; FreeBSD is no more free than the original UCB BSD, so not exactly a ‘free branch of it’. OpenBSD and NetBSD are two other branches, which are also free. And although they’re all “unix-like operating systems” none or them are even remotely related to Linux, they’re more closely related to Apple’s OSX (which might be described as a non-free branch of BSD)

I use Ubuntu, Fedora and Mepis, Mepis is becoming my favorite.

With Mepis all devices and wireless work from the get go on all my desktops and laptops.

Ubuntu Gusty (7.10) was a big improvement but still needed some tinkering to get the wireless up an running.

[...] Etymology of a Linux distro | Royal HeHe2-ness! [...]

No mint, this is rigged

From Wikipedia:
“Pardus is an open source Linux distribution developed in Turkey, as a product of the Pardus Project. It was named after the Latin (and scientific) name for the Anatolian Leopard.”

[...] ? ? ?????? ? ????????????? ???????? Linux ?????????????: Etymology of a Linux Distro. ????? ?? ?????? ? ???? ????, ?? ?????, ????????? ? ???, [...]

It has finally happened. Linux use has become so popular that the ignorant mainstream joe-blowhards are writing articles about it. This duchebag took a list from Distro Watch and posted it to his blog. When numerous people pointed out that he had moronically included versions of BSD on his list of linux distros did he fix it? No. Did he change to title to reflect that it was a list of more than just linux? No. He just made some lame excuse about adding diversity.

“Golly Jeepers! That dadgum BSD sure seems like linux to me!”

Look Rami, I know that is blows your mind that a site called “DistroWatch” would trick you by including some BSDs, but let me show you how this works. The site is called “DistroWatch” and not “Linux Distro Watch” pretty sneaky, huh?

I know, I know, but Linux and BSD are so similar, you say. I agree, it is terrible confusing. I mean, Men and Women have more parts in common that different. Will you put some swell fellas on your list of Top Sexy Babes? Why not, it sure would add diversity.

By you logic, all unix-like operating systems are the same? New flash to you Mac OS X users, according to OS Genius Rami Taibah, you are running linux!

It is sad that he really does think that the various BSDs and Linux distros are more similar that different. That very statement just shows you how little our man Rami knows about operating systems.

It’s ok, Rami, I’m here to help.

Repeat after me:
FreeBSD is not a linux distro.
PC-BSD is not a linux distro.
HPUX is not a linux distro.
AIX is not a linux distro.
Tru64 is not a linux distro.
Windows Vista is not a linux distro.
A ham sandwich is not a linux distro.
Brittany Spears is not a linux distro.

Etymology of a Linux distro | Royal HeHe2-ness!…

As the page says, “if you ever wondered what your favorite Linux distro means, you will probably find the explanation here”. Thirty-five or so distributions are given attention, complete with logo and some explanation, however unsatisfying, for the …

No wonder the winblows fanboy in the fourth reply posted as anon … what he said was “I’m not smart enough to use linux”. I wouldn’t want to admit such acute intellectual deficiencies in public either. My 70 yo mother uses Linux and has no problems even though she didn’t start using computers until a few years ago. Either she’s a genius or anon is somewht intelectually retarded. rofl (oops, did I just respond to flaimbait?)

Oshu:You are correct that BSD != Linux but it’s a similar subset of people that use both so it is of interest to the same people. So his heading isn’t accurate – so what? Get over it. Does it really warrant several diatribes? And to call him a douchebag because of it? wtf? You really are being a dick. Pull your head in.

What about Vector Linux

Man, that Oshu guy has a lot of frustration to vent.

“arch” means something like “ultimate” (as in “archenemy”), so “archlinux” is “ultimate linux”.

Great idea for an article. But,…
You made a grave spelling mistake: It is the “X Window System”, see: no ‘s’ after “Window”. The one with the ‘s’ is from an evil place called Redmond. Alternate allowed spellings are “X11″ or simply “X”.
And no, I don’t think I am nitpicking.
gm

[...] What’s behind that Distro’s name? Posted on April 8, 2008 by chhamanator from Royal Hehe2-ness [...]

[...] Etymology of A Linux Distro [...]

The way PCLinux OS got its name for you article is incorrect. It got its name from a magazine put together by Tex & other linux enthusiasts. here is the link:
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/200709/page01.html

I’m confused, Rami. When people informed you of your mistakes on some of the name origins, you corrected them. However, when people pointed out your mistake in including BSD distros on a list of Linux Distros, you did not correct your article.

I can only guess it is because you sincerely believe that “both Linux and BSD are more similar than not.” Here is where you are utterly mistaken.

Allow me to enlighten you.

Lets start with administration. The utilities and procedures for managing installed software, updates, services, users, partitions, and more are very different.

How about filesystems? Linux generally uses ext3. BSD uses FFS. Again, totally different.

Dig inside the kernels: completely different!

Ok, now here is the most important part: BSD proponents do not believe in Free Software (that’s free as in speach, not beer). Whereas Linux is released under the GPL, which requires all who use the source to share the source, BSD uses the BSD license.

The BSD License allows companies like Microsoft to use the source code from BSD in their products (and Microsoft does), but not to have to share ANY source code with anyone. The BSD belief is that it is fine to take from the community, make money off their work, and give nothing back.

Including BSDs on a list of Linux distros is like a slap in the face to all the hardworking programmers who graciously release their code under the GPL and believe in community sharing. Without the GPL, there would not be nearly so many wonderful Linux distros to choose from!

Worst of all, your list misleads those who don’t know any better into thinking there is not much difference between Linux and BSD. This is just dead wrong. While it might be true that a Linux Noob = a BSD Noob, a Linux Expert is not a BSD Expert without a lot of learning. Further, a Linux developer is not a BSD developer. Linux developers believe that everyone has the same rights and obligations to share.

In summary, Linux and BSD differ technologically, philosophically, and most importantly ideologically. PLEASE either change the title of your article or remove the BSDs.

@Claydoh @martalli @subgeniusd @Bob l @Mcbain

Thank you all for your input, I have amended the articles as per your comments. Thank you once again

Nice post Rami
I knew them as distros, but I didn’t know how they get their names.

[...] Etymology of A Distro [...]

very nice!

Ok guys, Mint Linux guys replied, I added it. Finally! It’s kinda interesting check it out!

[...] Etymology of a Distro – If you ever wondered where they came up with that goofy name for your favorite Linux distro this is a great article to check out. [...]

[...] PC, South Park, las computadoras apestan Videos Guia Ubuntu en Vimeo Videos Guia Ubuntu en la guía Etimologia de una Distro [...]

McBain said:
“Ok, now here is the most important part: BSD proponents do not believe in Free Software (that’s free as in speach, not beer). Whereas Linux is released under the GPL, which requires all who use the source to share the source, BSD uses the BSD license.”

Funny… with the BSD license being a permissive free software license (as opposed to the restrictive FS license that is the GPL) I do prefer GPL though…
I wouldn’t dare presume what the developers of the BSD distros believe in, but with regard to the license they tack on the system I’d say they probably like free software…

McBain continues:
“The BSD License allows companies like Microsoft to use the source code from BSD in their products (and Microsoft does), but not to have to share ANY source code with anyone. The BSD belief is that it is fine to take from the community, make money off their work, and give nothing back.”

Of course, in order to get the source code, the system had to be open/free in order to legally be able to use code. The license they use (BSD) so strongly considers the users freedom that it even allows others to use the code, without having to give something back. (And this is why I prefer GPL)
But saying that the BSD license is not a free software license… that is just plain wrong.
And since you dragged up the issue about kernels, while yes, the kernel “Linux” is indeed GPL:ed I dare you to check out what Linus Torvalds prefer; the pragmatics of open source, or the philosophy of free software.

One little beef with the article: #24, “Foresight” seems like a bit of a advertisement, not much on the name itself, but rather about how “grand” their rolling update manager is. And I don’t really know, maybe it is a big deal to get Banshee 1.0 a couple of months before Ubuntu get it.

Otherwise great post, especially about Gentoo, that I actually had wondered about but never bothered to find out, thanks

@Patrick: Reading it again, I can see what your saying, but trust me it wasn’t meant so. I never tried foresight ( I am really tempted to though) nor do I have any hidden agenda. It’s just that I didn’t really understand the idea of “rolling updates” so I asked the guys at the IRC Foresight channel, and that is exactly what they said. So ya understandably they would compare themselves to the most popular distro out there (Ubuntu), which made it sound like advertisement

No worries, I am sorry if I came off a bit strong. It just didn’t seem to fit into the rest of the post.

[...] are more interesting distro names that you can read over at hehe2.net’s blog who lists a few more distros and their name meanings and it is worth checking [...]

[...] I personally tried out at least 10 distros, 4 desktops, and 5 window managers. My recent article Etymology of A Distro got me interested in a couple more distros such as Zenwalk, Foresight, and Sabayon. Play the field, [...]

So many distros, so little time.
Will I ever see my family again?

Etymology of a Linux distro | Royal HeHe2-ness!…

How did Linux distros got their name? Well here are 35 of the most popular Linux distros out there, and their etymology…

STUMBLED!

Sweet list.

VOTED for you at:
http://hehe2.net/linux-general/etymology-of-a-distro/trackback/

Not technically Linux but for all you distro surfers you could look at ReactOS, it is based on Linux instead of UNIX, I still use Linux but it is an intesting project until Microsoft sues them into submission.

[...] a recent very popular blog post of mine, Etymology of A Distro, I mentioned that I convinced a friend to name her cat “Gentoo”. And since we all know [...]

Do a post on the etymology of the GIMP, LateX and BSD. They all sound dodgy and I think put people unfamiliar with the terms off using FOSS.

Thanks for the title update

[...] Oh and btw if you don’t know what the hell is a distro, then maybe you should check out my Etymology of A Distro Post [...]

[...] this article, then I would recommend to also read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Linux Users and Etymology of A Distro. Enjoy! When it comes to Linux there are 3 kinds of people, those who never heard of it, those who [...]

Fun article, but you should have also asked for the meaning of some of the pictures that go along with the name.

“Why does Suse have a Chameleon?”

Where is Arch Linux? They are ranked # 17 on DistroWatch.com. It must be one of the fastest and bleeding edge Linux releases in existance.

[...] Etymology of a Distro [...]

I agree with you about ‘kubuntu’ being formed from KDE + Ubuntu.

Unless some tribe really has such a word as ‘edubuntu’.

This was a really great article. I was doing a bit of research on the different linux distros for my CIS class and this helped a lot lol. I never knew there were so many. I'm very curious to actually try linux. I'm using vista and it's horrid. x.x

[...] ?????35?? ????????linux?????100?????????????????????????????15????????????????????????????3?linux??????linux????????Debain, Slackware?RedHat. ???linux??????????????????????????????linux??????? [...]

[...] year, I blogged about 35 Distros and how they got their names. Some of the distros out there have fascinating stories, while others are just too mundane. However [...]

I like all the icons. I know I'm shallow for picking a distro based completely off some stupid promotional icon, but I do. I think Debian, Fedora and FreeBSD have the best.

[...] year, I blogged about 35 Distros and how they got their names. Some of the distros out there have fascinating stories, while others are just too mundane. However [...]

[...] a recent blog post of mine, Etymology of A Distro, I mentioned that I convinced a friend to name her cat “Gentoo”. And since we all know [...]

[...] Oh and btw if you don’t know what the hell is a distro, then maybe you should check out my Etymology of A Distro Post [...]

[...] Etymology of A Distro | The Linuxologist Etymology of A Distro | Bringing Linux to the Masses [...]

[...] Etymology of A Distro [...]

Awesome website…

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