Firefox

Meanings

1. A free, open-source, cross-platform, graphical web browser, developed by the Mozilla Foundation.

1. Red panda

1. A mythical creature in Finnish folklore, a fox with fiery or radiant fur, the reflection of which produces the northern lights.

Etymology

Renamed from Firebird in 2004. The reasoning given for the name, explained as another name for the red panda (see firefox), was, “It's similar to Firebird. It's easy to remember. It sounds good. It's unique. We like it. And we weren't able to find any other project or company even remotely similar to a web browser that uses the same name.” The logo depicts a fox (hence the name is equivalent to fire + fox); its original designer, Jon Hicks, has stated, “A firefox is actually a cute red panda, but it didn’t really conjure up the right imagery. The only concept I had done that I felt happy with was […] inspired by seeing a Japanese brush painting of a fox”.