<p>The name "Ardour" came from considerations of how to pronounce the acronym HDR(Hard Disk Recorder). The most obvious attempt sounds like a vowelless "harder" and it then was then a short step to an unrelated by slightly homophonic word:</p>
<p><em>ardour “ n 1: a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause); "they were imbued with a revolutionary ardor"; "he felt a kind of religious zeal" [syn: ardor, elan, zeal] 2: intense feeling of love [syn: ardor] 3: feelings of great warmth and intensity; "he spoke with great ardor" [syn: ardor, fervor, fervour, fervency, fire, fervidness] ”</em></p>
<p>Given the work required to develop Ardour, and the personality of its primary author, the name seemed appropriate even without the vague relationship to HDR.</p>
<p>Years later, another interpretation of "Ardour" appeared, this time based on listening to non-native English speakers attempt to pronounce the word. Rather than "Ardour", it became "Our DAW", which seemed poetically fitting for a Digital Audio Workstation whose source code and design belongs to a group of collaborators.</p>
