Guidelines for release names

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.
  - The "is-a" relationship must be reasonably novel. For example, "is a brand of automobile" is reasonably novel. The relationship "is a brand of automobile only manufactured in Uzbekistan" is much better. The relationship "is a word with seven letters" is not sufficiently novel.
  - Preference is given to names showing relationships never before used in a release.
- 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:
- by the Fedora Art team for applicability to theming
- by the Fedora Board to make sure the name ballot is of sufficient size and composition.
  - Typically, the Board has a private vote on the entire name roster (after initial vetting)
  - The top results are sent on to Legal.
- by the Red Hat Legal department for a more intensive trademark search
The final release name is decided through a community vote.
Problems are resolved through the Fedora Board and the FPL.