I don't see any explanation of the name in the RFC, in the Wikipedia article on punycode, or elsewhere in my google searches, but maybe I didn't look hard enough.
Why is it called "punycode"? What's "puny" about it?
asked Jun 26 '20 at 18:59
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The best I could find is because it is a PUN on "UNIcode" (Unicode) Uni rhymes with puny. – Analog Jun 26 '20 at 21:26
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@Analog Where did you find that, if you don't mind sharing? – Maximillian Laumeister Jun 26 '20 at 22:24
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Here you go - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3APunycode#WHY_IS_IT_CALLED_PUNYCODE? – Analog Jun 26 '20 at 23:15
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@Analog Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I just replied to the user who commented that on Wikipedia, asking if they have a source. – Maximillian Laumeister Jun 26 '20 at 23:38
I emailed Punycode RFC writer Adam M. Costello, and he replied by quoting an email of his from 2002:
It is “puny” in three senses: The repertoire of characters used in the encoded strings is small, the encoded strings are short, and the implementation is small.
I have a longer write-up about it here:
https://www.maxlaumeister.com/articles/why-is-it-called-punycode/
answered Jul 18 '20 at 20:19
