Summary
Table of Contents
- 10
Ubuntu 21.04 ‘Hirsute Hippo’
- 9
Ubuntu 22.10 ‘Kinetic Kudu’
- 8
Ubuntu 24.10 ‘Oracular Oriole’
- 7
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS ‘Focal Fossa’
- 6
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS ‘Jammy Jellyfish’
- 5
Ubuntu 18.10 ‘Cosmic Cuttlefish’
- 4
Ubuntu 19.04 ‘Disco Dingo’
- 3
Ubuntu 20.10 ‘Groovy Gorilla’
- 2
Ubuntu 23.10 ‘Mantic Minotaur’
- 1
Ubuntu 23.04 ‘Lunar Lobster’
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Since 17.10 Ubuntu pairs animal codenames with matching default wallpapers.
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Wallpapers favor geometric, glowing, and semi-realistic styles; my favorites include Lobster, Minotaur, Groovy Gorilla.
Canonical has given cute animal-themed codenames to Ubuntu releases since the earliest versions of the operating system, but these releases didn’t always come with default animal-themed wallpapers. A lot of default Ubuntu wallpapers have just been abstract blobs and waves of light, but starting with version 17.10, every Ubuntu version has defaulted to an animal-themed wallpaper to go with its animal-themed name. Here are my favorite picks.
10
Ubuntu 21.04 ‘Hirsute Hippo’
Hirsute Hippo means ‘hairy hippo,’ and sure enough, the default wallpaper of this release features a hairy hippo, making direct eye contact with you as it emerges from water. The hippo is made from perfect circles (the outlines are still visible) and squiggly lines, against a bright purple backdrop. I love perfect circle designs because they’re so satisfying, and this soul-gazing hippo belongs on the list for that reason alone.
9
Ubuntu 22.10 ‘Kinetic Kudu’
Kudus are African antelopes with absolutely majestic horns and top speeds of 60mph. I can’t imagine a better name for an operating system because it captures everything an OS should be: fast and beautiful. The default wallpaper for this release depicts the silhouette of a kudu in motion, made from outlines against a magenta background. It could have made it to the top of my list if the designers had focused more on the kudu’s horns, which take this fantastic spiral shape absent in the lineart.
8
Ubuntu 24.10 ‘Oracular Oriole’
Oriole is a beautiful gold-colored bird, which, in literature, is said to have been touched by King Midas, who possessed the ‘golden touch.’ In addition to the classic legends associated with its mascot, the Oracular Oriole (as in having the nature of an oracle) release has a clever default wallpaper too. The wallpaper, which looks a bit like the Ubuntu logo itself, is made entirely out of perfect circles, surrounded by a bit of occult iconography.
7
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS ‘Focal Fossa’
I love cats and I thought I knew every kind of cat there is until I saw the wallpaper for Focal Fossa. Fossas, as it turns out, are big cats native to Madagascar, and they’re considered to be apex creatures. The wallpaper shows a geometric outline of a fossa’s head with bright white eyes, lased focused on their target. The designers even added light rays entering the fossa’s eyes to indicate how focused it is.
6
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS ‘Jammy Jellyfish’
The abstract, glowing backdrops of Ubuntu wallpapers lend themselves perfectly as underwater backgrounds. This release shows a jellyfish floating across a flat underwater background. However, for the very first time in Ubuntu’s release historythey gave the animal a faux 3D design. The designers added drop shadows and highlights which make the jellyfish feel like origami. Even the folded, faux 3D background looks like folds in paper.
5
Ubuntu 18.10 ‘Cosmic Cuttlefish’
Continuing with the nautical themes, we have the Cosmic Cuttlefish. Once again, it’s designed entirely from perfect circles, but this time, it’s a more complex concept. The cuttlefish has wavy eyes (just like real-life cuttlefish) and it floats through a glowing purple gradient with perfect circles in the backdrop. The circles could just as easily be stars or bubbles. Very clever!
4
Ubuntu 19.04 ‘Disco Dingo’
Ubuntu tried to bring disco back twice, once with Disco Dingo and once with Groovy Gorilla. The dingo (a kind of dog native to Australia) has a pair of Ubuntu-branded headphones, and it’s (presumably) bopping its head to infectious disco. The designers captured the dingo mid-bop with geometric polygon outlines. It made it this high up on the list because it just makes me happy just to look at it.
3
Ubuntu 20.10 ‘Groovy Gorilla’
In its second attempt, Ubuntu returned with the Groovy Gorilla wearing Ubuntu-branded shades. The gorilla with its winning smile is drawn out of polygons, but instead of a simple outline, the designers chose gradient shapes. It blends into the gradient background slightly, but pops just enough to not get overwhelmed. The coolness factor and the personality alone make it one of my favorites.
2
Ubuntu 23.10 ‘Mantic Minotaur’
Mantic Minotaur is pure design candy. Instead of simple shapes or outlines, it’s made to look like a maze. As the legend goes, the Minotaur was imprisoned in a labyrinth, which is why the concept depicts the Minotaur as a maze with an Ubuntu logo at the center. I love Greek mythology and the Minotaur’s story was my first. So a bit of nostalgia and clever design is why Mantic Minotaur is almost at the top of this list.
1
Ubuntu 23.04 ‘Lunar Lobster’
Lunar Lobster is just gorgeous and my absolute favorite. It breaks away from the overly flat design language and embraces a semi-realistic style. Instead of drawing a lobster, the wallpaper gives us a ‘lobster’ constellation. The stars are glowing and bright with a waxing moon to complete the concept. I think Lunar Lobster is what Cosmic Cuttlefish could have been. I would love to see more Ubuntu wallpapers done in this style.
The next Ubuntu release is slated for April 2026, and its codename is Resolute Raccoon.’ I hope the designers go for a colorful, disco look again.
