Look at the BUGS section of perl.pod. You'll find that Perl actually stands for Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister, but don’t tell anyone I said that. That is as definitive as the name at the top.

However both perlfaq1.pod (which was also written by Larry Wall and Co.) and interviews that I've seen with Larry confirm that Perl is not an acronym. However as http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/3394 indicates, he did come up with the backronyms in the same time frame that he was naming the language.

I can't honestly say that I've directly heard confirmation of this from Larry's own lips. But I have from multiple other people who are in a good position to know, including Randal Schwartz.

So while the issue may seem unclear to you, it is not to me, and it is not to anyone who is prominent in the Perl community. The expansions in perl.pod are jokes. Perl is not an acronym.

In reply to Re^7: perl not omnipotent? let's see! by tilly
in thread perl not omnipotent? let's see! by Moron

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