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Comment by stfp | Hacker News Reader

Feedback: change the name

The current name will prevent this product/company from ever making it to the mainstream, or at least make it way less likely.

A great name can truly make a huge difference. An OK name that sticks is a necessity. A name that is mostly “anus” is actively bad.

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To the OP, I say forget this advice. There's a headhunting company called Monster, arguably the worst possible name, especially for that business. Last time I checked they were doing fine. The truly worst thing is not being talked about.

Manus means hand in Latin, not a bad name at all for a tool that lends you a hand. Some people will recognize this, others not. They'll be fine, or if not, it won't be for that reason.

There is also MongoDB, which is also doing fine despite the very unfortunate name.

Not only hand, but force, violence, etc.: https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext...

Or fate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manos:_The_Hands_of_Fate

If the context implies that it's hand as the instrument used in fight. I don't see how that's relevant here.

It brings bad analogies with body parts. So, let’s change the name schema to gods, mythology or something on the sky. Maybe Uranus could be a better alternative.

Or Janus?

I really thought this name was from the common word for "human" in many languages across India. Slightly different pronunciations in some languages but I think many Indians would relate to the word as a derivative of "human".

ChatGPT's logo looks like an anus yet they're doing just fine.

I imagined it was short for "manuscript", as "manus" is the Swedish word for it. I also have a friend named Manu, who I imagine is hoping her name doesn't get Alexa'd.

The etymology of "manuscript" is from Latin "manu" by hand "script" (scriptus) written.

Seems OK to me, not great. I would have never made the connection to anus without you mentioning it, possibly due to the differing pronunciation.

Laughing because I came here and this is the top comment. My coworker asked if I heard about it over the weekend, so I came to HN to search. "How do you spell it, m-a-n-t-i-s?" "No, like anus with an M in front."

Mananus?

Womanus? Ladus?

Manus = माणुस in Marathi which means Man

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