What's In A Name?

To celebrate the end of my fourth week as an apprentice at 8th Light, I’d like to send a shoutout to the creator of Ruby, Yukihiro Matsumoto or “Matz” as he is affectionately called.

Just about everyday when programming in Ruby, I enjoy the process so much that I feel the desire to personally thank Matz for creating such an amazingly flexible language. In case you’re curious his name is written in kanji like this:

松本 行弘

A breakdown of each character results in an interesting name:

松: (matsu): pine tree

本: (moto): base or origin

行: (yuki): bound for

弘: (hiro): making something widely known or unveiling

So literally Matz’ name means “The origin of pine, a person bound for debuting something widely known.” I’m a big fan of selflessness in all its forms, and when I first heard Shakespear’s line “What’s in a name?” from Romeo & Juliet, I knew there was a lot more meaning held in those four words than I would know at first exposure. Over the years, it’s a line I’ve considered often, and in the case of Matz’ name - the answer to the query is “Ruby”.