Whatever it is, it'll suit the distro down to a T

What’s your Ubuntu 27.04 codename prediction?

by · omg! ubuntu · Join

I’ve only just gotten used to typing the Ubuntu 26.10 ‘Stonking Stingray’ codename carefully – autocorrect always thinks I mean stinking – yet I’m already thinking about what the next release will be called.

We know Ubuntu 27.04 will be a T.T. release since it follows an S, and tradition dictates the codename is made up of an adjective and an animal (real or mythical) that follows the alphabet in sequence.

But, beyond that, we’re camped out in theoretical territory. What better way to spend a spare five minutes than tease through the possibilities to take a guess at the codename combo that could fit April 2027’s Ubuntu release…

Even if, realistically, developers will opt for something totally tenuous or taxonomically theoretical (we’ve had werewolves and minotaurs in the past so why not a tatzelwurm – T.T. or not T.T, that is the question).

The previous “T.T.” release was Ubuntu 14.04 ‘Trusty Tahr‘, so we can rule both those two out.

First, let’s recap the most recent releases:

  • Oracular Oriole
  • Plucky Puffin
  • Questing Quokka
  • Resolute Raccoon
  • Stonking Stingray

These tell us one thing: codename combos are rarely obvious pairings.

On the adjective side, Ubuntu swings from silly (Saucy, Bionic, Disco, Hirsute) to professional (LTS’ have used Hardy, Trusty, Noble, Resolute) and sometimes, they get “eDuKaShuNal“, teaching us words we might have thought were typos (Eoan, Oneiric, Yakkety).

I’ve also done air-quotes-maths on the 45 codename pairings Ubuntu’s used to date.

Trivia I found:

  • 37.8% of codename adjectives end in -y
  • 62.2% of codename animals have 2 syllables
  • 75.6% of codename adjectives have 2 syllables
  • No codename adjective has been a single syllable

Tenacious? Tactile? Triumphant? Thrifty? Terrific? Topsy?

A thesaurus trawl to find something that tickles the tongue may be in order.

Animals that begin with T include the obvious choices – the majority of Ubuntu’s animal mascots are ones I think most of us could name, so familiar needn’t preclude being used:

  • Tapir – trunk-snouted mammal found in South America and Southeast Asia
  • Toucan – tropical bird with a brightly coloured bill
  • Tasmanian devil*– carnivorous marsupial native to the island of Tasmania
  • Tarantula – small, cute—wait, a huge hairy spider
  • Tiger shark* – marine predator known for the dark stripes on its body
  • Toad – you don’t need me to tell you what a toad is, right

And, many of these have distinctive shapes or features that could make for distinctive mascot artwork.

Because it’d be weird:

  • Tuna – a popular sandwich filling1

Lesser-known (to me, at least) animals that begin with T include:

  • Tuatara – ancient New Zealand reptile
  • Tamandua – tree-dwelling anteater with grasping tail
  • Tayra – a fear-inducing member of the weasel family
  • Tiger-kangaroo* – a tree-dwelling marsupial
  • Takahē – flightless ‘swamp hen’ found in New Zealand
  • Tegu – a large South American lizard

*Ubuntu has, to date, never used a double-barrelled animal in a codename, but there’s a first time for everything.

A topical and timely contender: the recently discovered Tilcayo cat (Leopardus tilcayo), a small species of wild cat native to the cloud forests of Bolivia.

What is your guess?

What’s your guess for Ubuntu 27.04’s codename?

Stick it in the comments, along with your most convincing explanation for why you think it’s the ideal choice. Or don’t bother: admit you’re taking a total shot in the dark.

There are no prizes if you do guess correctly, sadly, but you will earn the right to wear a smug look for the duration of the next development cycle. And who doesn’t like being smug, right?

My shake of the magic 8-ball is… YES. Wait, try again. NO. Dang it. Thrifty Tapir. Done.

  1. Before PeTA come for me: I’ve been vegetarian since I was 8. ↩︎