Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has revisited the story behind the platform’s name, revealing that it was not an immediate hit with everyone. His post on X came after Reddit shared a joke that brought fresh attention to the name.
“21 years ago I named ‘Reddit’ and everyone said it was a horrible name, but I insisted one day people would say ‘I read it on reddit’ and used my CEO-privilege to overrule everyone + kept the name. Now the company twitter account (unbeknownst to them) is making the joke. Heh,” he wrote.
Ohanian’s response revealed that the wordplay was part of his thinking when he chose the name. Ohanian’s post drew a mix of surprise, humour and questions from users. Reddit, founded in 2005 by Ohanian and Steve Huffman, has since grown into a major online platform where users discuss news, hobbies, entertainment and everyday experiences through communities known as subreddits.
The joke plays on the similarity between “Reddit” and “read it”, suggesting that someone may already have come across the joke on the platform. Some admitted they had never noticed the connection between the platform’s name and the phrase “read it”. (Also Read: iPhone Duo sold-out on Blinkit within 5 minutes of launch on platform, says Albinder Dhindsa ) Another joked that the platform should be called an “echo chamber”, while one described the exchange as “the longest setup for a pun in tech history”.
