“Most 2.6 Linux kernel releases have contained a unique name
that is only visible within the top level makefile. Some examples,
2.6.17 was named ‘Lordi Rules,’ 2.6.16 was named ‘Sliding Snow
Leopard,’ 2.6.14 was named ‘Affluent Albatross,’ and 2.6.13 was
named ‘Woozy Numbat.’“Kyle McMartin recently posted a patch to the lkml with the
intention of making the kernel name visible, leading Linux creator
Linus Torvalds to explain, ‘well, part of the charm of the name is
that it’s totally meaningless. I can pick names out of my *ss, and
they don’t matter in the least, and nobody will ever see it except
in the kernel diffs…'”