Skip to content

Updated info on testnet naming convention #16024

New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Merged
wackerow merged 4 commits into from
Oct 21, 2025
Merged

Updated info on testnet naming convention #16024

Changes from all commits
Commits
Show all changes
4 commits
Select commit Hold shift + click to select a range
b84c585
Updated info on testnet naming convention
bskrksyp9 Aug 5, 2025
2a63302
Updated Info | content adjustments
bskrksyp9 Oct 8, 2025
d3d2a31
Merge branch 'dev' into pr/bskrksyp9/16024
wackerow Oct 21, 2025
e82cce2
patch: header levels/ids, punctuation, arrangement
wackerow Oct 21, 2025
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Loading
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Loading
Diff view
Diff view
23 changes: 23 additions & 0 deletions public/content/developers/docs/networks/index.md
View file
Open in desktop
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -179,6 +179,29 @@ The consensus process is controlled by a pre-defined set of nodes that are trust

If a public Ethereum network is like the public internet, a consortium network is like a private intranet.

## <Emoji text="🚉" /> Why are Ethereum testnets named after metro stations? {#why-naming}

Many Ethereum testnets are named after real-world metro or train stations. This naming tradition started early and reflects the global cities where contributors have lived or worked. It's symbolic, memorable, and practical. Just like testnets are isolated from Ethereum mainnet, metro lines run separately from surface traffic.

### <Emoji text="🚧" /> Commonly used and legacy testnets {#common-and-legacy-testnets}

- **Sepolia** - A metro-linked neighborhood in Athens, Greece. Currently used for smart contract and dApp testing.
- **Hoodi** - Named after Hoodi metro station in Bengaluru, India. Used for validator and protocol upgrade testing.
- **Goerli** _(deprecated)_ - Named after Görlitzer Bahnhof in Berlin, Germany.
- **Rinkeby** _(deprecated)_ - Named after a Stockholm suburb with a metro station.
- **Ropsten** _(deprecated)_ - Refers to an area and former ferry/metro terminal in Stockholm.
- **Kovan** _(deprecated)_ - Named after a Singapore MRT station.
- **Morden** _(deprecated)_ - Named after a London Underground station. Ethereum’s first public testnet.

### <Emoji text="🧪" /> Other specialized testnets {#other-testnets}

Some testnets were created for short-term or upgrade-specific testing and are not necessarily metro-themed:

- **Holesky** _(deprecated)_ - Named after Holešovice station in Prague. Used for validator testing; deprecated in 2025.
- **Kiln**, **Zhejiang**, **Shandong**, **Prater**, **Pyrmont**, **Olympic** _(all deprecated)_ and **Ephemery** - Purpose-built for upgrade simulations like The Merge, Shanghai, or validator experiments. Some names are regional or thematic rather than metro-based.

Using metro station names helps developers quickly identify and remember testnets without needing to rely on numeric chain IDs. It also reflects Ethereum’s culture: practical, global, and human-centered.

## Related tools {#related-tools}

- [Chainlist](https://chainlist.org/) _list of EVM networks to connect wallets and providers to the appropriate Chain ID and Network ID_
Expand Down