Earlier I wrote about about openSUSE:42 and explained the particular branch will include core SUSE Linux Enterprise code. There was a long debate on the openSUSE mailing list to find a suitable name. On 25 June 2015, Rainer Fiebig sent the following to the list:
[…] But excitement and attention is what you need to get to have an impact in the crowded markets of today. And the product’s name is the best place to start.Therefore, my suggestion would be
openSUSE Leap
like in “leap forward”, “quantum leap” or “…but …giant leap for mankind” (or at least for a chameleon, that is ;-)Following (service-) releases might be named “openSUSE Leap 1.1”, “Leap 2” etc. Each release a leap.
The associations that “leap” evokes are obvious. Marketing could spin a nice story around it. And the press would have something to play with. […]
The name Leap got its notoriety and overtook earlier suggestions like Oak and Rock n Roll. That’s it! On 2 July 2015, Richard Brown, the openSUSE Board Chairman announced the decision to keep the name openSUSE Leap :-)