What is Mozilla?

The original name for Netscape's browser, now called Navigator. Some people claim that the term is a contraction of Mosaic Godzilla (e.g., Mosaic killer), since Mosaic was the number one Web browser at the time Netscape began developing its product. The term Mozilla is still used by many Web developers and appears in server log files that identify the browsers being used.

In 1998, Netscape decided to make the source code for Navigator freely available to the public, or open source. The Netscape group responsible for releasing the code is called mozilla.org. This is the organization that now creates the Firefox browser.

Web Reference
June 2, 2005