So, if “JavaScript” has nothing to do with “Java”, then why does it have “Java” in the name? How did JavaScript get its name? JavaScript was originally developed by Brendan Eich of Netscape, Inc. under the name Mocha, which was later renamed to LiveScript, and finally to JavaScript. LiveScript was the official name for the language when it first shipped in beta releases of Netscape Navigator 2.0 in September 1995. However, it was renamed JavaScript in a joint announcement with Sun Microsystems on December 4, 1995, when it was installed in the Netscape browser version 2.0B3. In an interview, Eich had said, “That’s right. It was all within six months from May until December (1995) that it was Mocha and then LiveScript. And then in early December, Netscape and Sun did a license agreement and it became JavaScript. And the idea was to make it a complementary scripting language to go with Java, with the compiled language.” The change of name from LiveScript to JavaScript approximately coincided with Netscape adding support for Java technology in its Netscape Navigator web browser. When the final name was decided, it caused confusion and gave the impression that it was a marketing ploy by Netscape intended to make people think JavaScript actually did have something to do with Java. It has also been claimed that the language’s name is the result of a co-marketing deal between Netscape and Sun, in exchange for Netscape bundling Sun’s Java runtime with their then-dominant browser. According to this press release, JavaScript’s design was “complementary to and integrated with Java” It also turns out JavaScript actually can interact with applets, too. stackoverflow
