From Fedora Project Wiki
This page documents how Fedora releases should be named.
Summary
- Names are suggested by the community.
- The fedora-devel-list mailing list was previously used for suggestions.
- Beginning with Fedora 11, name suggestions are solicited through a wiki page.
- To suggest a name, a community member must:
- Show how the name meets the "is-a" test. For example, "Schnozz is a ____, and so is Keister." Names for releases N and N+1 must be related, and names for releases N and N+2 cannot share the same relationship.
- Document preliminary searches showing the name is not encumbered by trademarks or other use that makes it a bad or risky choice.
- Names are vetted through the Red Hat Legal department for a more intensive trademark search.
- The Fedora Board is responsible for making sure the name ballot is of sufficient size and composition.
- The final release name is decided through a community vote.
- Problems are resolved through the Fedora Board and the FPL.
Suggestion table
The first row is a template provided for educational purposes only.
| Name | "Is a..." | Tested | Approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| TestName | name used for a Fedora distro | Google search +software, +computer, +Linux, +IT | 
|
How to use this table
- Come up with a name idea. Put the name in the first column.
- Determine whether it passes the "is-a" test. You must be able to complete the sentence " is a <...>, and so is <YOUR_NAME>." The link to the new name cannot be the same as the link from to . Mark the link in the appropriate column, such as "river in Kazakhstan," "deep-sea organism."
- Don't choose obvious links, because they usually result in uninteresting names.
- Don't choose very general names or unclear links.
- Do choose obscure links to interesting things, which makes for a better name.
- Do avoid all previous links wherever possible.
- Use Google to search for possible trademark collisions. First search for the term itself along with "+software", and then broaden your search to include "+computer", "+hardware", "+technology", "+IT", and so on. Do not skimp on this step.
- If you find a collision, it is best to find another name. Names that cause collisions will be eliminated by Red Hat's Legal department and thus waste their time, which is a valuable commodity for Fedora. Help us maximize their effectiveness by weeding out names that are trademarks of other entities, especially those in the IT industry.
- If the collision is outside the IT/computing market, you can still submit the name but you should note the collision in the "Tested" column, and include a link to the site where the collision was found.
- If you find no collisions, make that notation in the "Tested" column.
- Do not mark the approval columns. These are reserved for the approval authorities such as the Board and Red Hat Legal.