Shebang (Unix) - Etymology

Etymology

An executable file starting with an interpreter directive is simply called a script, often prefaced with the name or general classification of the intended interpreter. The name shebang for the distinctive two characters comes from an inexact contraction of SHArp bang or haSH bang, referring to the two typical Unix names for them. Another theory on the sh in shebang is that it is from the default shell sh, usually invoked with shebang. This usage was current by December 1987, and probably earlier.

When asked about what he would call his feature (i.e. "What do you personally call that first line"), Dennis Ritchie answered:

From: "Ritchie, Dennis M (Dennis)** CTR **" To: <@talisman.org> Date: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:37:37 -0600 Subject: RE: What do -you- call your #! line? I can't recall that we ever gave it a proper name. It was pretty late that it went in--I think that I got the idea from someone at one of the UCB conferences on Berkeley Unix; I may have been one of the first to actually install it, but it was an idea that I got from elsewhere. As for the name: probably something descriptive like "hash-bang" though this has a specifically British flavor, but in any event I don't recall particularly using a pet name for the construction. Regards, Dennis

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