Why is Python Named After Monty Python?
Yes — Python is named after the British comedy troupe Monty Python, not the snake. Here’s the origin story.
The origin story
In December 1989, Guido van Rossum — then a researcher at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica in Amsterdam — began writing a new programming language over the Christmas holidays. He needed a name that was “short, unique, and slightly mysterious.”
He was also a fan of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the BBC sketch show that ran from 1969 to 1974. The name stuck, and Python was born.
The connection runs deep in the Python community. The official documentation uses phrases like spam and eggs in code examples instead of the traditional foo and bar. The package installer is calledpip — as in “pip install”, which Pythonistas will recognise as a nod to the self-referential humour the Pythons were known for.
Guido himself wrote in the language’s README: “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).”
Frequently asked questions
Why is Python named Python?
Python is named after Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the British comedy show. Creator Guido van Rossum was reading the show’s scripts while writing the language in 1989 and wanted a name that was short, unique, and slightly mysterious.
Is Python named after the snake or Monty Python?
Python is named after the comedy group Monty Python, not the snake. The snake and the Python programming language logo association came later — the name itself has nothing to do with reptiles.
What is the origin of the name Python?
Guido van Rossum chose the name in December 1989 while writing the language over the Christmas holidays, crediting his fandom of Monty Python’s Flying Circus in the project’s original README.
Some Python wisdom
A random selection of quotes from the team Python was named after.
'Tis but a scratch!
— Monty Python and the Holy GrailStrange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
— Monty Python and the Holy GrailThat rabbit's got a vicious streak a mile wide! It's a killer!
— Monty Python and the Holy GrailThat, my liege, is how we know the earth to be banana-shaped.
— Monty Python and the Holy GrailWe are an anarcho-syndicalist commune.
— Monty Python and the Holy GrailHow could a 5-ounce bird carry a 1-pound coconut?
— Monty Python and the Holy GrailThere are those who call me… Tim.
— Monty Python and the Holy GrailLovely plumage.
— Monty Python's Flying CircusAn argument is a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition.
— Monty Python's Flying CircusI'm not dead yet!
— Monty Python and the Holy Grail