DUBAI // Some liked Dino, others picked Dina, and many chose Dubainosaur.
These were just a few of the popular names posted online and submitted in the competition to name the female 155 million-year-old fossil that towers over visitors at the Dubai Mall Atrium.
The name DubaiDino was picked from thousands of entries for the #NameTDMDino competition on social media platforms after the Diplodocus longus exhibit from the late Jurassic period was unveiled in March.
As per competition rules, if more than one person submitted the winning name, the first submission would win.
A software system pinpointed the date and time of the posts and the final name was selected by a panel of experts.
Even after the official naming on Monday, visitors suggested further names. Most children wanted to name the dinosaur after themselves.
“Khalifa”, suggested Khalifa Al Hosani, 9, visiting with his sisters and mother from Abu Dhabi. “The dinosaur looks good and big and scary.”
He laughed as his sister, Ghzllan, 5, whispered her chosen name, “Dragon”, in his ear.
“It is great. I would call it Magnasaur,” said Sidhaarth Murugan, 18, an Indian student visiting the UAE with his parents and younger sister.
rtalwar@thenational.ae
