Ubuntu has announced the codename of its next release, 26.04 LTS, as “Resolute Raccoon”.
The codename was chosen by former Debian and Ubuntu release manager (and long-time Canonical employee) Steve Langasek, who passed away at the start of 2025.
All Ubuntu releases get a distinctive codename pairing an adjective with an animal, which serves as the release mascot. The tradition dates back to the first Ubuntu release in 2004 (which was Ubuntu 4.10 ‘Warty Warthog’).
What does the Ubuntu 26.04 codename mean?
Resolute means to be determined and unwavering. As adjectives go, it’s a fitting one for a long-term support release that millions of Ubuntu users will rely on for years to come.
Raccoons are remarkably resourceful, resilient creatures native to North America. They’re famed for their dexterity and problem-solving skills, distinctive masked faces, and ringed tails. An adaptable animal that thrives even in the weirdest places, it’s not unlike Ubuntu…
Why does Ubuntu have codenames anyway?
Cute though they are, Ubuntu’s codenames serve a functional purpose — I’ve often seen Ubuntu users argue that “Ubuntu should drop codenames”, considering them pure marketing fluff.
The adjective (e.g., ‘noble’, ‘bionic’ and now ‘resolute’) is an critical part of the Ubuntu release infrastructure. Ubuntu’s version number is the planned release date, but that date can slip (it’s only happened once, in 2006, which is why it was Ubuntu 6.06 not 6.04).
Besides which, naming repos with words not numbers offers safety in development. If you’re a dev pushing code to a repo, typing ‘resolute’ instead of ‘2604’ means there’s less chance you accidentally send changes to the wrong release — 2504, 2404, etc are valid repos.
What to expect in Ubuntu 26.04 LTS?
As the next long-term support release, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS will be backed by 5 years of ongoing updates on the desktop, including 3 years of hardware enablement updates, and a further 5 years of critical security patches via Ubuntu Pro.
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is due for release in April 2026. It is expected to ship with GNOME 50, enabled the Prompting Client by default, switch Totem for Showtime (in the extended selection install), and further improve TPM-backed disk encryption.