Even if you've never used it, there's a good chance you've heard of Linux or, at the very least, seen its mascot, Tux the Penguin. It feels like one of those things that popped up one day and then effortlessly flourished into existence, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Linux endured several key moments, including being called "obsolete" in 1992 and gaining popularity after Unix got caught up in a lawsuit.
But what if Linux signed its death sentence before it even properly took off? What if it died off not because of its tech or its circumstances, but because of its name? While it's obviously impossible to tell whether or not Linux's original name would definitely have tanked the OS into obscurity, I have a gut feeling that it would not have done it any favors.
Linux was originally going to be called "Freax"
It doesn't quite have the same professionalism, does it?
Back in 1991, Linus Torvalds had just gotten his hands on an Intel 80386-based clone PC and a copy of MINIX. MINIX is still around today, but back in the early 90s, it was primarily a resource for people who wanted to learn how to program an operating system. Torvalds had really resonated with it and decided to set out to make his own, but what would he call it?
He considered the name Linux, as a mix of his first name and the word "Unix." But he felt that it was a little egotistical to name the OS after himself, so he originally settled on "Freax." It was a mix of the word "Freaks," but the ending was replaced with an X, which all Unix-based systems used at the time. It wasn't perfect, but Torvalds was just building it as a personal project, so he wasn't too bothered.
However, it was renamed to "Linux" without Linus' permission
A good move, in hindsight
As Torvalds began working away on his OS, he sent emails to the MINIX newsgroup. One subscriber was Ari Lemmke, who worked at the Helsinki University of Technology and was a volunteer administrator for the FUNET (ftp.funet.fi) FTP server. Lemmke knew about Torvalds' work, including the potential names for the project, such as Linux and Freax.
When Torvalds went public with his idea for his OS, Lemmke contacted Torvalds, telling him that there was space on his FTP server to host the OS files if he wanted to. Torvalds said the project was going under the name "Freax" at the time, but when Lemmke created the folders on the FTP server to host his files, he made an executive decision.
Lemmke really, really didn't like the name "Freax." It's kind of easy to see why; it's one of those things you think was cool when you were a teenager and regret later in life. Given how Torvalds was 21 when he set up the foundation for what would become Linux, Lemmke likely believed that the young Torvalds would look back on this day with embarrassment. So he set up the folders to read 'Linux' instead of 'Freax'.
Torvalds didn't bother correcting it; in fact, it's likely that he also, deep down, knew that "Freax" was a bit too casual. So, he rolled with the name "Linux," and it set the name in stone for the next few decades.
Linux wasn't totally free of controversy, though
It had its own problems
Despite Linux being arguably a lot better name than Freax, it didn't get away scot-free. It started another debate in the 90s, where people wanted the name "Linux" to also include the name of the software included with it: GNU. People were mixing Linux and GNU as early as 1992, with people proposing "Linux/GNU," "GNU/Linux," and one weird moment where people tried to float "Lignux," which Torvalds responded to. Honestly, I think that one's even worse than "Freax."
This is the part where I usually say, "And then the community dropped it, and everyone lived happily ever after," but this is the FOSS community we're talking about; you know, the people run entirely off internet discourse and distro tribalism. You can still find smoldering embers of this decade-long debate this side of 2020 if you look hard enough, including places like Facebook.
Linux's name was more trouble than people may first believe
It's fascinating to read that Linux was originally not going to be called 'Linux', and slightly horrifying that we, in another timeline, are all using the 'Freax kernel' in our PCs. Still, I think Linux was the best pick of the bunch.