# What is Julia named after?

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720>\
**Category:** Offtopic\
**Created:** [September 5, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720 "2021-09-05T16:28:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![cybervigilante](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/cybervigilante/32/26687_2.png) [@cybervigilante](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/cybervigilante)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 4:28pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/1 "2021-09-05T16:28:38Z")

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I know Python is named after Monty Python, then evolved into a snake, but I’ve seen no mention of Julia. Is it a name, an acronym, or just made up?

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**Author:** ![pjentsch0](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/pjentsch0/32/15148_2.png) [@pjentsch0](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/pjentsch0)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/2 "2021-09-05T16:36:00Z")

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> [@Why is the name of the language "Julia"?](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/why-is-the-name-of-the-language-julia/4382):
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> Python comes from Monty Python. C++ is the successor of C. C is the letter after B (another programming language). Haskell is named after Haskell Curry. Ada is inspired by Ada Lovelace. Java is coffee. Lisp is a contrived abbreviation of LISt Processor. All of these facts can be found on the Wikipedia pages for the languages listed above, and more or less all other programming languages in existence have similar information linked to them—even ML, the MetaLanguage. But not Julia. …

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**Author:** ![jling](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/jling/32/212909_2.png) [@jling](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jling)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/3 "2021-09-05T16:36:19Z")

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[Frequently Asked Questions · The Julia Language](https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/manual/faq/#Is-Julia-named-after-someone-or-something)?

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**Author:** ![nilshg](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/nilshg/32/2283_2.png) [@nilshg](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/nilshg)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/4 "2021-09-05T16:38:36Z")

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> [@CAS benchmarks (Symbolics.jl and Maxima)](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/cas-benchmarks-symbolics-jl-and-maxima/58359/17):
>
> This is cool to see because it reminds me of a moment that was probably a key influence on julia. I learned the lisp lore that you could, say, write a macro to add type declarations to every subexpression, and then a good lisp implementation would generate fast code. I immediately thought two things: Why not just declare the types of variables? You can, but common lisp is generally too “type-unstable” (as we would call it) to be sure you’ll get the intended code. (May not be true for floats b…

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**Author:** ![cybervigilante](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/cybervigilante/32/26687_2.png) [@cybervigilante](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/cybervigilante)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 7:11pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/5 "2021-09-05T19:11:57Z")

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Julia is a mystery, then 😀 Although I think COBOL should have been named “Grace.”

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**Author:** ![cybervigilante](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/cybervigilante/32/26687_2.png) [@cybervigilante](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/cybervigilante)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 7:13pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/6 "2021-09-05T19:13:40Z")

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Maybe one of the creators knew someone named Julia who had a Lisp, so when you asked her name she’d say, “J-J-J-Julia,” which is kind of introspective, or at least recursive 😀

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**Author:** ![cybervigilante](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/cybervigilante/32/26687_2.png) [@cybervigilante](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/cybervigilante)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 7:17pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/7 "2021-09-05T19:17:46Z")

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I don’t buy that “no.” Someone just suddenly thought, “Julia?” At least a TV character or someone’s mom.

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**Author:** ![Sukera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sukera](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/Sukera)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/8 "2021-09-05T19:24:07Z")

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There doesn’t have to be any reason other than “it’s a nice name” for this. You may or may not buy that justification - but please keep in mind that there’s no need to personify it. Not everything has to be based on something a human did or is.

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**Author:** ![jling](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/jling/32/212909_2.png) [@jling](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jling)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/9 "2021-09-05T19:36:56Z")

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you buy whatever you want lol. But hey, you don’t have to pay for Julia…

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**Author:** ![gbaraldi](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/gbaraldi/32/22101_2.png) [@gbaraldi](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/gbaraldi)\
**Post date:** [September 5, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/10 "2021-09-05T23:55:17Z")

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I like to create a different story for the name every time, so that one day we may have multiple conflicting opinions on what it’s named after/what does it mean.

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**Author:** ![amrods](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/amrods/32/2543_2.png) [@amrods](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/amrods)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2021, 4:49am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/11 "2021-09-06T04:49:04Z")

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> I like to create a different story for the name every time, so that one day we may have multiple conflicting opinions on what it’s named after/what does it mean.

I found The Joker here!

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**Author:** ![ptoche](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/ptoche/32/23554_2.png) [@ptoche](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ptoche)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2021, 5:38am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/12 "2021-09-06T05:38:10Z")

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This post was temporarily hidden by the community for possibly being off-topic, unfocused, inappropriate, or spammy.

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**Author:** ![cormullion](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/cormullion/32/49131_2.png) [@cormullion](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/cormullion)\
**Post date:** [September 6, 2021, 8:42am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/13 "2021-09-06T08:42:10Z")

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Mr Julia might disagree with you…

 ![15254976](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/original/3X/a/3/a34f03e841faef4a71b5515676a8be8e25d633d9.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![blackeneth](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/blackeneth/32/10353_2.png) [@blackeneth](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/blackeneth)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 1:24am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/14 "2021-09-07T01:24:00Z")

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For example: named after the wife of President Ulysses S. Grant.  
[not true]

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**Author:** ![pjentsch0](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/pjentsch0/32/15148_2.png) [@pjentsch0](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/pjentsch0)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 3:34am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/16 "2021-09-07T03:34:08Z")

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I suspect it was flagged because referring to the language as gendered or comparing it to any particular person is against the [community standards](https://julialang.org/community/standards/).

It’s against the community standards because it is a deeply uncomfortable and insensitive comment to make.

(This is responding to the above commenter who has since deleted their post).

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**Author:** ![rafael.guerra](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/rafael.guerra/32/216610_2.png) [@rafael.guerra](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/rafael.guerra)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 5:15am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/17 "2021-09-07T05:15:05Z")

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> [@pjentsch0](#):
>
> It’s against the community standards because it is a deeply uncomfortable and insensitive comment to make.

Do not understand why the above post was flagged.

A real cause of discomfort could be the ugly SS-like picture posted above, to which most people would prefer [Julia Roberts’](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/an-animal-for-julia/6322/91) instead.

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**Author:** ![jzr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb9ed0/32.png) [@jzr](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/jzr)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 5:35am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/18 "2021-09-07T05:35:05Z")

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Given the gendered name “Julia” and the gendered descriptor “pretty”, the language’s name may be inspired by the gendered personal name. However, the policy is to separate the name of the language from the personal name.

Regardless of the name policy or origin, please refrain from personally attacking each other about it. Having a friendly community is most important.

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**Author:** ![nilshg](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/nilshg/32/2283_2.png) [@nilshg](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/nilshg)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 6:05am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/19 "2021-09-07T06:05:34Z")

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I was one of the morons who while not flagging the post messaged Patrick about it. I would object to that general characterization of me (although I’m sure my kids would often agree!), but more broadly I believe we should adhere to the Julia community standards and code of conduct which we all agreed to when signing up to the forum.

I don’t think there’s any chance anyone would “tackle” PrettyPrint or PrettyTables, given that they evidently are in line with the community standards. I would also point out that while his aims of overall world domination might be considered shady, M. Bison [was never a member of the SS](https://streetfighter.fandom.com/wiki/M._Bison).

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**Author:** ![rafael.guerra](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/rafael.guerra/32/216610_2.png) [@rafael.guerra](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/rafael.guerra)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 6:11am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/20 "2021-09-07T06:11:30Z")

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Fyi, there is unfinished work [here](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/an-animal-for-julia/6322/91) and [here](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/an-animal-for-julia/6322/42). Good luck 🙂

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**Author:** ![magister-ludi](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/magister-ludi/32/4003_2.png) [@magister-ludi](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/magister-ludi)\
**Post date:** [September 7, 2021, 10:59am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720/21 "2021-09-07T10:59:56Z")

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While I think what you’ve written is basically sensible, and in other contexts I might have given you a ♥, the notion that personal names are gender-specific is a bit old fashioned?

[Next page](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-is-julia-named-after/67720.md?page=2)