The name has a cool sound, but I think "grep" is only meaningful to people like us, not the mainstream that it targets. Still, create something useful, and the name doesn't matter as long as it's memorable and distinctive, as this is on all counts.
Little inside nods is what makes names like this particularly fun. For everyone else, it's just a catchy name.
We knew this was safe because it worked for YC.
Doesn't YC target people like us, as opposed to the mainstream?
I think he meant the name 'Y Combinator' is also similar. It has significant meaning to those who know what a Y-Combinator is. For others, it's just a cool name.
I think that even for programmers, Y Combinator (the fixed point combinator not the company) is somewhat obscure.
i originally misread it as "gremlin", those little devils that do annoying things when no one is looking.
I doubt the resemblance is a coincidence: greplin appears to be a portmanteau of grep and gremlin. (IMHO, it's a great name.)