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I have long been interested in something. I know a lot of things about the history of Ubuntu, but I do not know about the name.

So, why is Ubuntu named "Ubuntu"?

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Ubuntu is a South African ethical ideology focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other. The word comes from the Zulu and Xhosa languages. Ubuntu is seen as a traditional African concept, is regarded as one of the founding principles of the new republic of South Africa and is connected to the idea of an African Renaissance.

Source: https://help.ubuntu.com/10.04/about-ubuntu/C/about-ubuntu-name.html

Also this is the release naming scheme: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DevelopmentCodeNames

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    Note that the linked "Source" 404's now. If you want to view it, you can use the Wayback Machine.
    – kiri
    Feb 18, 2014 at 10:45
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From About the Name, viewed with the Wayback Machine:

Ubuntu is a South African ethical ideology focusing on people's allegiances and relations with each other. The word comes from the Zulu and Xhosa languages. Ubuntu is seen as a traditional African concept, is regarded as one of the founding principles of the new republic of South Africa and is connected to the idea of an African Renaissance.

A rough translation of the principle of Ubuntu is "humanity towards others". Another translation could be: "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity".

"A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed."

     — Archbishop Desmond Tutu

As a platform based on Free software, the Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of ubuntu to the software world.

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  • To clarify, this word is indeed in Zulu and Xhosa, but it isn't exclusive to those. It is a bantu/nguni word. Also, a lovely proverb in Zulu/Xhosa/bantu languages, pertaining to Ubuntu: Umntu ngumntu ngabantu. A person is a person with other people.
    – Restioson
    Dec 14, 2017 at 16:49
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Ubuntu in the Xhosa language means "I am because we are".

Meaning of Ubuntu

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