Programming Language Name Generator

Generate programming language names that sound like they belong next to Rust, Kotlin and Elixir: single-word names drawn from elements, minerals, animals, mathematicians, stars, tools and coined syllables, ready for a new language, DSL, dialect or toy compiler.

About programming language names

Almost every successful programming language has a one-word name, and the words come from a small number of wells. Many are materials: Rust, Crystal, Carbon, Amber, Opal. Many are people: Ada, Pascal, Haskell, Julia, Erlang, Curry. Some are animals or plants (Python, Pony, Elm), some are borrowed from myth or other languages (Odin, Lua), and a large share are short invented syllables that simply sound clean in a terminal: Nim, Zig, Roc, Koka, Vale, Mojo. The pattern is the point: one or two syllables, easy to type as a file extension and a package prefix, and free of an existing meaning in software.

This generator follows those conventions. You will find unclaimed elements and minerals (Tungsten, Bismuth, Garnet), mathematicians and computing pioneers not yet taken (Lovelace, Noether, Galois, Hopper), animals (Kestrel, Marten, Lynx), stars and weather (Arcturus, Sirocco), workshop tools (Lathe, Rivet, Auger) and coined words such as Virelle, Kestra and Nyrix.

Before you commit, search GitHub, PyPI, npm and crates.io for the word; the best names are ones that return no results.

How to choose programming language names

• Check the namespace first: search the name on GitHub, npm, PyPI, crates.io and a domain registrar before you print it on a README.
• Make sure the file extension works. Kestrel becomes .kes or .kst, Garnet becomes .gar; if the obvious extension collides with something common, pick another name.
• Say it in a sentence a developer would actually use: 'written in Tungsten', 'the Heron compiler', 'pip install bismuth'. If it sounds awkward, move on.
• Avoid common English words that are impossible to search for (Flow, Go and Swift got away with it only because large companies pushed them).
• Let the name hint at the language's character: materials for systems languages, animals or weather for scripting, mathematicians for functional or proof-oriented languages.

Frequently asked questions

How are real programming languages usually named?

Most are single words: a material (Rust, Crystal, Carbon), a person (Ada, Haskell, Julia), a gem or element (Ruby, Cobalt), an animal or plant (Python, Elm), or a short coined syllable (Nim, Zig, Roc). A few are acronyms (BASIC, COBOL, PHP, SQL) but those are now rare for new languages.

Are any of these names already taken by an existing language?

We filtered out well-known languages and common developer tools, but the ecosystem is huge and obscure projects exist for many ordinary words. Always run a quick search on GitHub and the package registries you care about before adopting a name.

Can I use these for a DSL, a scripting language in a game, or a toy compiler?

Yes. Short names work for any language-shaped project: a configuration language, a query language, a shader language or a weekend interpreter. For an embedded scripting language, consider a name that fits your product's theme so it is obvious where it lives.

Should the name describe what the language does?

Rarely. Descriptive names (TypeScript, PostScript, ActionScript) only worked as extensions of an existing brand. A distinctive, unrelated word is easier to trademark, search and grow into, and your tagline can do the describing.

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