The Strange Roots

Python 🐍

Python, the programming language designed by Guido van Rossum in 1991, was named after the British television comedy Monty Python's Flying Circus. Rossum wanted a name that was "short, unique and slightly mysterious" and happened to be reading the show's scripts when he created the scripting language. He said: "I chose Python as a working title for the project, being in a slightly irreverent mood (and a big fan of Monty Python's Flying Circus)."

The comedians apparently chose "Monty Python" because it sounded like the name of a really bad theatrical agent, with John Cleese suggesting "Python" as something slimy and slithery, and Eric Idle suggesting "Monty", a reference to Lord Montgomery, the great British general of the Second World War.

Root: The word python comes from the ancient Greek Puthón, the name of a huge serpent killed by the god Apollo. It has been used to refer to various large, heavy-bodied, non-venomous snakes that constrict their prey since the early 19th century.

Sources: Python.org