Unconventional Computer Naming Conventions

There are a few different schools of thought on how to name computers. This is much lower priority and more playful than other batters, but there is a business objective that benefits from this light-hearted approach.

Like cars and smart phones, computers don’t need unique names if each person only has one. In those cases, conventional names like Jane’s 2013 Dell and Bradley’s 2019 Lenovo are sufficient.

However, this becomes a problem when a person is responsible for several computers at the same time, or when a set of computers are shared by a team of people. In those cases, it can be beneficial to give computers unique or fun names in addition to service tags or serial numbers. This makes computers easier to identify in the case of “drift” – different computers in a group intended for one purpose needing different levels of maintenance or support work.

Some people choose to name their devices after minerals, insects, or mythological figures. I use botany, personally – all of my computer names come from the names for plants, typically these names are in Latin. Some people can find the more obscure ones slightly challenging to pronounce or spell. However, unlike insects or mythological figures, plants are unlikely to be associated with fear or misfortune. However, this comes down to personal preference. The ultimate goal is to create clearer distinctions between similar or identical devices.

At very large scales, it’s easiest to use only serial numbers or service tags for nodes, because there are far too many nodes and they are far too interchangeable to get names in words. For the average business though,  I have found that using creative names a useful method for identifying members of a certain groups of computers.