Every year heading into WWDC, one thought on many Mac fans' minds is what Apple will choose as the name for the next version of macOS. The tradition dates all the way back to the beginning of Mac OS X with its big cat names like Leopard, and Apple shifted to California-themed names with the unveiling of OS X Mavericks in 2013.
Back in 2014, we discovered more than 20 California-themed trademark applications filed by various limited-liability companies, which were all but certain to be shell companies created by Apple to hide its identity. Over time, some of the trademarks like Yosemite, Sierra, Mojave, Monterey, Mojave, Ventura, Sonoma, and Sequoia were indeed used as macOS names, while trademark applications for other names were abandoned.
Apple has still proceeded to use some of the names with abandoned trademark filings as macOS names, such as Big Sur in 2020. So, there is still a possibility that macOS 16 will use one of the names that Apple had filed to protect many years ago.
Here is a list of the remaining macOS name possibilities that Apple had filed to protect:
California
Condor
Diablo
Farallon
Grizzly
Mammoth
Miramar
Pacific
Redtail
Redwood
Rincon
Shasta
Skyline
Tiburon
Apple's trend of using Tiburon in iPhone marketing images in recent years has led some fans to speculate that macOS 16 could be named macOS Tiburon, but this is obviously far from concrete evidence. Indeed, it was once on the trademark path, though.
Of course, there is no guarantee that Apple will ever use any of these names. It is simply fun to think about the possibilities each year.
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