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Ubuntu is known for having the funkiest release code names around. From time to time users suggest potential names, so if you have a magical idea, please add it to the table at the bottom of this page.

Release Naming Scheme

The official name of an Ubuntu release is "Ubuntu X.YY" with X representing the year (minus 2000) and YY representing the month of eventual release within in that year. Ubuntu's first release, made in 2004 October (10th month) was Ubuntu 4.10. Since the actual release date is not known until it's ready and humans tend to prefer names rather than numbers, a set of codenames are used by developers and testers during the buildup to a release:

The development codename of a release takes the form "Adjective Animal". So for example: Warty Warthog (Ubuntu 4.10), Hoary Hedgehog (Ubuntu 5.04), Breezy Badger (Ubuntu 5.10), are the first three releases of Ubuntu. In general, people refer to the release using the adjective, like "warty" or "breezy". The names live on in one hidden location---the archive release name in /etc/apt/sources.list and seen on the download mirror network.

History

MarkShuttleworth said the following with regard to where the naming scheme originally came from:

• So, what's with the "Funky Fairy" naming system? Many sensible people have wondered why we chose this naming scheme. It came about as a joke on a ferry between Circular Quay and somewhere else, in Sydney, Australia:

  • lifeless: how long before we make a first release?
    sabdfl: it would need to be punchy. six months max.
    lifeless: six months! thats not a lot of time for polish.
    sabdfl: so we'll have to nickname it the warty warthog release.

  And voila, the name stuck. The first mailing list for the Ubuntu team was called "warthogs", and we used to hang out on #warthogs on irc.freenode.net. For subsequent releases we wanted to stick with the "hog" names, so we had Hoary Hedgehog, and Grumpy Groundhog. But "Grumpy" just didn't sound right, for a release that was looking really good, and had fantastic community participation. So we looked around and came up with "Breezy Badger". We will still use "Grumpy Groundhog", but those plans are still a surprise to be announced... For those of you who think the chosen names could be improved, you might be relieved to know that the "Breezy Badger" was originally going to be the "Bendy Badger" (I still think that rocked). There were others... For all of our sanity we are going to try to keep these names alphabetical after Breezy. We might skip a few letters, and we'll have to wrap eventually. But the naming convention is here for a while longer, at least. The possibilities are endless. Gregarious Gnu? Antsy Aardvark? Phlegmatic Pheasant? You send 'em, we'll consider 'em.

1. lifeless is Robert Collins. sabdfl is Mark Shuttleworth.

Code Name Suggestions

If you think of a really good one future name, save it here rather than keeping it hidden away inside your brain and you never know, you may even see a release named after allowing you to feel happy inside knowing that you've contributed in a very special and unique way to an Ubuntu release!

This is not a competition, but a way for people to work together!

Suggestions for Ubuntu 10.10

10.10: Moxious Myna. - Mynas are medium-sized passerines with strong feet. Their flight is strong and direct, and they are gregarious. Their preferred habitat is fairly open country, and they eat insects (butterflies 8-) and fruit (apples 8-). Plumage is typically dark, often brown.

10.10: Merry Meerkat. - Meerkats are social, altruistic animals. They are African (like Ubuntu). They are protectors (from legend). They're also merry (brisk, jolly, fun, and light)... exactly like Ubuntu!

10.10 Mad Man. - shortness of Madu Manuka (anti bacterial) bacteri="distruber"

10.10 Mighty Marmot. - Mighty Marmot or Mighty Marmoset would be the best I see from the list below.

10.10 Mighty Mammoth.

10.10: Mischievous Mallard. - Marrard is new Gnome documentation system.

10.10: Mighty Mouse. - Possible trademark violation

10.10: Myriad Marmot. - This seems to be a well thought out name. ~~~

10.10: Mad Marsupilami.

10.10: Majestic Mammoth.

10.10: Mysterious Monkey.

10.10: Magical Mouse.

10.10: Muonic Martin The explanation would only undermine the possibilities.

10.10: Magic Mammoth. 10.10 is a magic number, and this version will kill other distribs because of the combo : new color + new way of using a computer with tags, journal, activites. I hope mammoth will not be synonymous of old and slow.

10.10: Magic Mongoose. Because mongoose is speed, reprensts predators (it kills snakes)

10.10: Marauding Macaque.

How about Majestic Manatee?

10.10: Majestic Moose?

10.10: Mad Mouse

Suggestion for version 10.10: Merry Meerkat. This name comes from a Slashdot comment in reply to the announcement of the first Ubuntu release in 2004. The post states, "I want the 'Merry Muircat'[sic] edition. It would be faster and lighter than the warthog."

10.10: Masturbating Minx. - Do you really think they are going to use "mastubating" in the name of Ubuntu 10.10? That is totally ridiculous and obscene. ~~~

10.10: Mystic Meerkat.

10.10: Modest Mouse. Like the band

10.10: Maudlin Manatee. Weakly and effusively sentimental.

10.10: Magnificent Mara: That's a name. I like Moonlight Mara more.

10.10: Mysterious Mockingbird. A bit on the corny side, but sounds so mysterious!

10.10 Mutinous Mouse. Little, but unruly.

10.10: Mighty Mara

10.10: Munchy Mammoth

10.10: Mingling Mink or Molecular Manta. First for the community, second for the cloud. Heh.

10.10: Mighty Mantis

10.10: Manic Mammoth

10.10: Moody Moose

10.10: Moody Marlin aka Exit 315 on I-35 in Texas.

10.10: Magnetic Monkey, from as written in my user page

10.10: Mouthy Mule

10.10: Mythical Mandrill

10.10: Musky Moose

10.10 Mammoth Mammoth . . . the repositories keep getting larger, the project keeps growing, and it is no DSL (tuxradar liked it)

10.10: Mad Macaco

10.10: Merry Moose

10.10: Merciless Marsupilami

10.10: Magnificent Mongoose

10.10: Muscled Mosquito - Strong and fast

10.10: Minty Maggots

10.10: Mighty Mustang

10.10: Mystic Mantis

10.10: Melodious Mongoose or Moose - I really like mongoose and moose. Whatever adjective is chosen, the animal has to be a mongoose or moose.

10.10: Mellow Mantis - Gentle, relaxing and graceful. Yes, I like it, but Manatee suits the adjective better.

10.10: Moldable Mustelidae - A reincarnation of the original Bendy Badger, flexible and strong.

10.10: Manic Mongoose

10.10: Moony Mumakil

10.10: Mystical Moa (Extinct NZ bird)

10.10: Micro Mole - Undermining the Micro

10.10: Motley Motmot - A lovely alliteration

10.10: Mysterious Murrelet - Superficially resembles a penguin

10.10: Majestic Marmoset

10.10: Mellow Manatee

10.10: Monosyllabic Moose Actually, as another commenter said, I really like Moose - whatever the adjective, please go for Moose!

10.10: Monty Moose - Pythonic Moose

10.10: Murderous Meerkat

10.10: Mercurial Marmot

10.10: Microsoft Murderer - Remember #1 bug

10.10: Muscled Mustang - We run faster, and our muscles are stronger than ever.

10.10: Magnificent Moose (Majestic Moose, suggested previously is good too), but go with a Moose; please!

10.10: Mighty Manticore - A legendary creature.

10.10: Mantic Mongoose - Mantic: Divinely Inspired, of or pertaining to divination, having the power of divination. Also, it is easy to imagine referring to a release as "Mantic".

10.10: Marvelous Magpie

10.10: Mysterious Mudskipper

10.10: Meddling Moose - Moose is a fun word to say. Make it so, please. Although "Meddling" might have a wrong connotation...

10.10: Mystic Mustang

10.10: Magnificent Moo-cow

10.10: Miserable Minotaur

10.10: "Mellifluous Mastiff"

10.10: "Meritorius Mutt"

10.10: "Mordant Muskox"

10.10: Mangy Marsupial

10.10: Moxious Minnow

10.10: Motherfuckin' Millipede

10.10: Magnificent Merlin - the magnificent Merlin, not to confuse with the magnificent Merlin

10.10: Magnanimous Moose - Magnanimous because that is what Ubuntu is, and I just like Moose, mainly cause we're big fans of them here in Canada

10.10: Morose Mammoth - ¿remember Manny?: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Age_(film)

10.10: Meek Monster - Hey, this is GNU/Linux and it's very user friendly, two seemingly contradictory terms.

10.10: Mighty Marsupial - A group of animals from all over, of all different personalities and backgrounds, that come together to make something great.

10.10: Minced Mutton A truly delicious OS, see also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7apqvqws9M

Debian Special Name Coordination

It was suggested in an April post on MarkShuttleworth's blog that 10.10 might be a target for a coordinated release alongside Debian. If this ends up happening, I suggest, for this singular occasion, breaking with the alphabetical ordering for the extra-special opportunity of referencing penguins with both the Debian release name wheezy (the adjectival penguin from Toy Story) and the Ubuntu release Wheezy Waitaha (a Waitaha is an extinct species of penguin from New Zealand with a name approximating what somebody would say when coordinating the simultaneous release of 2 distros). (In this scenario it would probably be better to use "waitaha" as the distinguishing word for the Ubuntu release.)

Adjectives for the archive pocket names, hence might brake peoples systems because they might add incompatible repositories which have same distro-pocket name. So waitaha for ubuntu then =)

Suggestions for Ubuntu 11.04

11.04: Nebulous Nautilus

11.04: Noble Narwhal.

11.04: Nimble Nymph?

11.04: Nocturnal Nightelf

11.04: Nerdy Nymph seems appropriate to me: Both intelligent and sleekly attractive.

11.04: Nefarious Newt - My mom thought of this combination.

11.04: Nimble Newt Fast and sleek.

11.04: Naughty Newt if file sharing sites are integrated into the desktop

11.04: Needy Nematode if bitter Debian contributors could name it

11.04: Nagging Nag if more pop-up reminders are added to the desktop

11.04: Nimble Nightingale

11.04: "Notable Nilghai"

11:04: Noble Nighthawk small...stealthy...swift...

Suggestions for later versions of Ubuntu

11.10 (#O)

11.10: Oscillating Owl. Sounds good?

Also, Observing Opossum

If 11.10 has a major artwork update, Opulent Oryx (or some other animal) would seem fitting.

11.10: Opulent Ocelot

11.10: Opulent Okapi

11.10: Obnoxious Orangutan. First seen in thedailywtf.com.

11.10: Osculating Octopus. While not a simple adjective, it still serves as one.

12.04 (#P)

12.04: Pretty Pig it's funny This name remember "Patty the Pretty Pig", it's a good idea for a 'pink' ubuntu release to meet more female users... :P and an opportunity for male users to approach more ubuntu girls! ihihihi

I like "Perverse Penguin"... Imagine the logo

Also, "Prodigious Penguin" or "Pragmatic Penguin"

I like Phobic Phoenix for 12.04. Or, as a friend suggested when I pumped him for good PH adjectives, "acidic".

I like "Peaceful Parrot" One definition of peace is (freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, an obsession, etc.; tranquillity; serenity.) that describes Ubuntu well....Not annoying, but beatifully colored

I like "Phoenix", but "Phobic" sounds rather negative. What about Persistent Phoenix or Prestigious Phoenix?

How about Pyrophobic Phoenix I like the idiosyncrasy?

Perhaps Pensive Phoenix or Prodigious Phoenix? I like how it sounds.

Perky Piwakawaka (NZ bird, common name is Fantail)

Purple Panther (Because 'Pink' would be too obvious)

Pink Puffin

Poetic Pony, or indeed anything at all ending in Pony, I have been promised, would result in my girlfriend defaulting to Ubuntu rather than only occasionally going in when her Windows install breaks down.

Therefore: Poetic Pony, which I feel emphasises the poetic grace we are coming to expect from increasingly slick Ubuntu releases, or perhaps Pensive Pony to show that Ubuntu is careful to think, to deliberate, to give matters suitable consideration?

Precocious Pony too has, I think, an extremely good ring to it, and would lend itself well to our habit of doing new things.

Precarious Pangolin: Ubuntu releases have tended to focus on more unusual animals or names for animals. They raise questions like, "What is an Eft?" or "Where do badgers even live?" and thus can raise awareness of the animal and its circumstances. I, for one, would like more people to know about pangolins because they're interesting and well-defended creatures. Much like Linux as a desktop operating system. The adjective can probably take many angles, but the way I see it, it's an X.04 release and it's also reflective of the continued state of the Linux desktop. It's taken a long time to get this far, but it's never bad to have a reminder that resting on our laurels is at our own peril.

12.04: Powerful Penguin

12:04: Me gustaría un nombre en Español para demostrar la apertura del sistema a todas las comunidades, me parece muy al estilo de la filosofía Ubuntu. Ej: Poderoso Pingüino.

12.04: Pretty Panda, the Giant Panda is a conservation reliant endangered species. Giant Panda black and white coat color, black eye, very cute! In 1961, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) select Giant Panda for their logo. Now, Giant Panda has become the most important symbol of wildlife conservation. Sorry, bad English. 大熊貓（別名：貓熊）是瀕危野生動物。大熊貓黑白相間的毛色、黑色的大眼圈，非常可愛！早在1961年世界自然基金會（WWF）成立時就選擇了大熊貓作為其標志。現在，大熊貓已經成為了全世界物種保護的象征。

12.04: Powerful Python

12.04: Perilous Pica

12.10 (#Q)

Quixotic Quail for 12.10 (as suggested on #kubuntu-devel Sept 20th, 2009)

Quisitive Quetzal

Quintessential Quokka

13.04 (#R)

Radiant Robin - Has a nice tune to it. A lovely release is soon to come.

Resplendent Raven

13.10 (#S)

I Think that Super Salamander is a wicked codename!!!

Silver Skylark

14.04 (#T)

Twirling Tui (NZ bird) or maybe Tough or Tricky Tui

Teal Terrapin

Terrible Tribble

Terrific Tiger

14.10 (#U)

Maybe we could find and Unhorned Unicorn for 14.10 (that would be a horse, wouldn't it?)

How about Ubiquitous Urchin?

Unbounded Unicorn

15.04 (#V)

Would a Vicious Vixen be too much for 15.04?

Vivid Viceroy - A brightly-colored butterfly

Valiant Veery - A songbird

15.10 (#W)

Suggestion for 15.10 : Whacky Worm.

Wonderful Wallaroo - A large kangaroo Witty Woodpecker

16.04 (#X)

Xenial Xebu

Xenial Xema

Xenial Xenops

16.10 (#Y)

Yakkity Yak is fun... but maybe Nickelodeon would sue us...

Yellow Yeti

17.04 (#Z)

And what will be then after 17.04 codenamed with Zarthy Zorthy

If Xenial Xebu doesn't do for 16.04, then maybe Zealous Zebu might pass for 17.04

Zippy Zorro

Zany Zebra

17.10 (#A)

Maybe we could start doubling the initial like in Aalenian Aal or Aalenian Aardvark

18.04 (#B)

Potentially 18.04: Ballsy Baboon.

18.10 (#C)

Chocolate Chapulín. Or... Chapulín Colorado (no contaban con mi astucia)... Chillin Chinchilla.

19.04 (#D)

19.10 (#E)

We'll have to skip non-vowels to do this: Eely Eel is kinda exaggerated

List of Adjectives and Animals