Name of the spinning load/wait/buffer animation

Question

You see these things everywhere in both desktop and web development. Do they have a proper term or name? I thought I heard someone call it a "thumper" once, but Google doesn't seem to agree.

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Not really sure how to categorize this, since it's applicable everywhere.

Answer 1

The term you heard was most likely Throbber - this is from early web browsers (Mosaic, Netscape) where the page load indicator was indicated by animating the browser logo.

Answer 2

In Android development they're called "indeterminate progress bars."

In iOS development they're called "activity indicators."

Another common term is "spinner", e.g., STYLE_SPINNER in ProgressDialog, but care should be taken to avoid confusion with spinner-style menus.

Answer 3

The term Sorrento for the buffering pinner, is from the "Meaning of Liff" series, the joke etymology book written by Douglas Adams & John Lloyd,

Answer 4

It's called a sorrento, and was given a name by a former Manager of Google Milan in honour of his hometown.