Why is Kubernetes called K8s?

Working with Kubernetes means navigating a complex ecosystem of terminology. Even the name 'Kubernetes' can seem unwieldy. If you've been reading about Kubernetes, you've likely noticed it's often referred to as K8s.

This article explains the meaning behind Kubernetes, why it's abbreviated as K8s, and the historical context that shaped the project's identity.

If you need help with Kubernetes implementation, book a consultation with our team of cloud experts.

What Does 'Kubernetes' Mean?

Kubernetes means "helmsman" or "pilot" in Greek.

The name derives from the Ancient Greek word κυβερνήτης (kubernḗtēs), which is also the origin of "cybernetics" and "governor". The metaphor is straightforward: steering applications through cloud computing and containerisation requires a guide to navigate complex infrastructure.

The Docker Connection

The maritime metaphor connects directly to Docker, the containerisation technology that enabled Kubernetes. Just as freight containers standardised global logistics, Docker containers standardise application deployment. Kubernetes, as the helmsman, orchestrates these containers across infrastructure.

The Origin Story

From Borg to Kubernetes

Before Kubernetes, Google operated an internal cluster management system called Borg, named after the Star Trek collective. Borg managed hundreds of thousands of jobs across massive clusters, establishing many concepts that would become core to Kubernetes: pods, services, labels and controllers.

Project Seven of Nine

In 2013-2014, Google engineers Joe Beda, Brendan Burns, Craig McLuckie, Brian Grant and Tim Hockin created an open-source container orchestration system based on Borg's lessons. The project's internal codename was Project Seven or Seven of Nine—another Star Trek reference. This lives on in the Kubernetes logo, which features seven spokes on its ship's wheel.

Choosing the Name

When open-sourcing the technology, the team had approximately 13 potential names, but faced obstacles with Google's legal department. They ultimately selected Kubernetes—maintaining the nautical theme whilst satisfying legal requirements.

Launch and Growth

On 6 June 2014, the first commit was pushed to GitHub with 250 files and 47,501 lines of code. By 2015, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) took over governance, ensuring vendor-neutral development.

In 2024, Kubernetes celebrated its 10th anniversary with over 88,000 contributors from more than 8,000 companies across 44 countries, making it one of the largest open-source projects in history.

Why K8s?

K8s is a numeronym—a number-based abbreviation where digits represent omitted characters.

Breaking it down:

• K – first letter of Kubernetes
• 8 – the eight letters between K and s (u-b-e-r-n-e-t-e)
• s – final letter of Kubernetes

Why the Abbreviation Caught On

• Efficiency: Kubernetes is lengthy to type in documentation, chat and command-line interfaces
• Pronunciation: The Greek word is frequently mispronounced (Kuber-neet-ees, Kuber-net-es, Koo-ber-net-ees)
• Convention: Similar numeronyms exist throughout computing (i18n for internationalisation, l10n for localisation, a11y for accessibility)

You may also encounter Kube as an informal shortening, particularly in official tooling like kubectl (the Kubernetes command-line tool).

Kubernetes Today

Understanding the name is just the beginning. Kubernetes has evolved into a comprehensive ecosystem:

• Nearly 200 CNCF projects including Prometheus, Helm and many others
• Managed services from all major cloud providers (GKE, EKS, AKS)
• Enterprise adoption across organisations of all sizes
• Expanding use cases including AI/ML workloads, edge computing and serverless functions

Making Kubernetes Accessible

At Appvia, our mission is to reduce Kubernetes complexity, enabling businesses to focus on delivering value. Wayfinder provides expertise and automation to make Kubernetes simple, scalable and secure—whether you're beginning your cloud-native journey or scaling existing deployments.

Summary

• Kubernetes derives from the Greek word for "helmsman", reflecting its role in orchestrating containerised applications
• The nautical theme complements Docker's container metaphor
• The project evolved from Google's Borg system and was codenamed Seven of Nine (hence the 7-spoke logo)
• Open-sourced on 6 June 2014, now governed by the CNCF
• K8s is a numeronym: K + 8 letters + s
• After a decade, Kubernetes is the standard for container orchestration

If you need help implementing Kubernetes, book a consultation with our team of cloud experts.

‍