The popular virtual assistant Siri has been a household name since its launch in 2011. But why is it called Siri?
The answer lies in the name of its creator, Dag Kittlaus. Kittlaus was a Norwegian entrepreneur who co-founded the company that created Siri. He named the virtual assistant after a co-worker in Norway, whose name was Sigrid. Sigrid is a short form of the Old Norse name Sigríðr, which is composed of the elements sigr (victory) and fríðr (beautiful).
Kittlaus wanted to give his virtual assistant a name that was meaningful and had a personal connection. He thought that Sigrid was the perfect name for his creation, and he shortened it to Siri.
The speech recognition engine for Siri was provided by Nuance Communications, a speech technology company. Nuance’s technology allowed Siri to understand and respond to spoken commands. This was a major breakthrough in virtual assistant technology, and it helped Siri become the success it is today.
So, there you have it – the story behind the name Siri. It was named after a co-worker in Norway, whose name was Sigrid. The speech recognition engine was provided by Nuance Communications, and this allowed Siri to understand and respond to spoken commands. Thanks to Kittlaus’s creative thinking, Siri has become one of the most popular virtual assistants in the world.