With a surprise announcement named “Evolve This OS,” Ikey Doherty, leader of the still-in-development rolling release Linux distro Serpent OS, announced a major rebranding effort, and more specifically, the project now adopts the more welcoming name AerynOS.
He said the decision to abandon the original name was motivated by concerns about the word “serpent’s” negative and somewhat intimidating associations. A quick clarification for our readers: In the Bible, the serpent in the Garden of Eden represents temptation, sin, and Satan.
In order to move forward, our identity needs to be more befitting of the project we’re building. A move into the real world. This isn’t a hobby project, it’s a full blown Linux distribution with serious technical underpinnings, achievements and goals. Getting the tone right from day dot is critical.
In explaining the choice of AerynOS, Doherty highlights the dual significance of “Aer,” derived from Latin, and “Erin,” which nods to the project’s Irish roots.
The transition timeline is already underway. The official rebranding will be finalized on March 17, 2025, coinciding—rather fittingly—with St. Patrick’s Day. The project has secured relevant domain names such as AerynOS.com and AerynOS.dev and is updating social media profiles and public communication channels.
Additionally, a new GitHub organization has been established, and the project will migrate its code repositories there in the coming weeks.
Now, we’ve arrived at my favorite part—when I can share a few thoughts. First off, congratulations on the new name! However, there’s an old saying: “It’s not the name that makes the man; it’s the man that makes the name.” In that spirit, I believe there are still more important things for the project to focus on moving forward.
First, after four and a half years, the project barely made it to alpha—just over a month ago. Of course, it all comes down to the time and resources the developers can put in, which clearly aren’t great. And let’s not forget that Doherty recently announced that he is facing serious financial trouble.
The bottom line? This project’s challenges are far bigger than just deciding what to call it.
Sure, Serpent OS might not sit well with some people because of its demonic associations (though FreeBSD doesn’t seem to have that issue). But at the same time, I’m not convinced that AerynOS really conveys any particular message to a Linux user—forgive me, diehard Game of Thrones fans.
Anyway, I hope this change gives the project a much-needed boost and helps it grow faster. The core concept behind it is fantastic (atomic updates but without the nowadays so “modern” immutability under the hood), and it would be a great addition to the Linux ecosystem. So, goodbye, Serpent OS. Go AerynOS!
I mean they could have picked ANY Irish “reference”….(Blarneystone Linux?…..Guiness Linux?…..Clover Linux?…..Irish Linux?…..Celtic Linux?…..Gaelic Linux?)…..but AerynOS?…it just doesn’t “click” if you ask me…but hey…..their distro…..their name right?
Not sure whether to laugh or cry…
Solus is an easy one to remember.
Interesting to see FerenOS making a comeback!
Another easy name to remember.
Huh, well I can see why people would be put off by the association with snakes, but I guess somebody has to say it, “Aeryn” looks and maybe sounds a little too much like “Aryan”, which prior to the previous century might have been perfectly fine, but as Wikipedia notes, “In Nazi Germany, and also in German-occupied Europe during World War II, any citizen who was classified as an Aryan would be honoured as a member of the "master race" of humanity.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan). My fear would be that a lot of people are going to mis-read that name, or even if they don’t mis-read it, their minds will consciously or unconsciously make that association, which I guess is fine for some people, but not any of the people I’d want to associate with. So I’m not sure the new name is going to help them. I realize this was not their intent and they are trying to pay homage to their Irish roots, but in a worldwide marketplace most people are not going to know enough Irish to make the intended association, it just remains to be seen if too many people still reject it because of the name. Talk about out of the frying pan into the fire!
i will never remember this name the old name i could easily remember when i seen new articles this one i will forget quickly. I do not use the os I’m just saying the other name was harder to forget but since I do not use it does not really matter.
When the project does not bring in the financial support, regardless of whether the technology is as relevant as the devs think it is during their circle-jerking session, the easiest change is the name. Who wants to support a project whose main dev openly complains about being broke arse and whines about not having proper organised development support, re-branding allows the project to get away from that unprofessional image.
I hope it won’t die before becoming mature.
Like Aeryn Targaryen in Game of Thrones…