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How Your Favorite Programming Languages Got Their Names
What do snakes and coffee have to do with programming, anyway?
You may have heard the saying that there are only two hard things in computer science, one of which is naming things. Some programming language names make a lot of sense, like Google naming their language Go(lang). Other names — like Python and Java — are not so obvious.
Let’s explore the history of some of the most iconic programming languages and how they got their name.
Python
Python was created by Guido van Rossum as a “hobby” programming project to keep him occupied during the Christmas holidays. For his language, van Rossum wanted a name that was short, unique, and slightly mysterious. Given Python’s “two snakes” logo, you would think that Python is named after the enormous python snakes (capable of swallowing an entire alligator whole!).
Rather, while in a “slightly irreverent mood”, Guido named it after Monty Python’s Flying Circus, a British comedy series from the 70s. It turns out he was a huge fan of the show and just happened to be reading the show’s scripts at the time.
