I think the name "Cockroach" was a really poor decision from a marketing standpoint. The team intended to convey durability, since cockroaches can live through anything. But when I think of a cockroach, I think, gross, disgusting, etc.
I mean Mongo has very bad associations for me in terms of childhood taunts and Blazing Saddles...but now the name really relates more to the product than to the original meaning.
The difference is that the word "mongo" is an issue of the same word having different meanings in different dialects. Whereas, with "cockroach", it's the same intended meaning, but with different connotations.
It’s not even the association, which I actually think is great, the name is simply a mouthful. RoachDB rolls off the tongue just so much better.
They can always spin off “RoachDB” as an enterprise option, if they have any problems with selling it due to name.
I don't, at all - I'm vaguely positive towards the name, but in general don't care what things are called, so long as I can remember it. (Although I still maintain that "Paypal" is the stupidest name ever.)
I know people exist who will avoid things simply because they react negatively to the name. How prevalent is this? This isn't about overall product aesthetics/ergonomics/etc., just the name.
It's unfortunate the world works that way, but nevertheless, it works that way.
It could be the best database in the world. They did a real disservice to themselves by naming it after a bug people typically associate with filth, disease, and germs.
Would you use something called TurdDB or AssDB?
Here's an Wikipedia excerpt on cockroach:
> They feed on human and pet food and can leave an offensive odor.[60] They can passively transport pathogenic microbes on their body surfaces, particularly in environments such as hospitals.[61][62] Cockroaches are linked with allergic reactions in humans.[63][64] One of the proteins that trigger allergic reactions is tropomyosin.[65] These allergens are also linked with asthma.[66] About 60% of asthma patients in Chicago are also sensitive to cockroach allergens. Studies similar to this have been done globally and all the results are similar. Cockroaches can live for a few days up to a month without food, so just because no cockroaches are visible in a home does not mean they are not there. Approximately 20-48% of homes with no visible sign of cockroaches have detectable cockroach allergens in dust.[67]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_Kimball_(computer_prog...
Good thing that marketing types have no say when it comes to engineering decisions.
http://www.ranker.com/list/the-top-10-oldest-living-things-o...
But if there were two similar products, one named Roach, I would go with the other without much thought. The name is horrible. As long as they are the king of whatever they do, they can call themselves whatever they want, but handing competitors an automatic naming advantage did not have to be the case.
A name like CockroachDB catches my eye the same way Yandex's Cocaine PaaS makes me click to find out what the hell that product actually is.
There's a reason Toyota has never named a car 'The Cockroach' and a soft drink company has never released 'Cockroach Cola'.
If you are in that role, and you permit the name of a vendor to trump the actual merits of the vendor's product, you should never have been trusted with decision-making authority in the first place, and any competitors who don't harbor your particular emotional hangups will get the better of you, and you won't be long for your position anyway.
Cockroach Labs is not selling to the end-consumer. They're selling to people whose job it is to behave like Vulcans. In this particular market, it doesn't matter what the name is.