Submission timeline
2007–2026One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.
First comments on top threads
HN comment orderFor me one of the most practical benefits of singular table names is: not having to think about the primary/foreign key names, because you can always just assume that it's "[table name]_id". If you have a "users" table, you either have to name the column "users_id", which is incorrect (because per row it's the id of a single user), or you have to use mental cycles to de-pluralize the name (or even worse, try to remember whether you called it…
This is the tabs vs spaces of SQL. Pick one and stick with it. If you join a project that has already chosen the “other” option that is not your favourite, just grow up and deal with it. Once decided, try to apply it consistently, unlike the final example given here which really ought to be “UserFactsCollection”, or List or Bag or whatever singular object they are actually saving per table row… and if you absolutely must write a blog…
(2023) at the time (89 points, 104 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35762682
The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.
- Breakout years
- 2
- Total points
- 135
- Total comments
- 155
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-04-30 | Use singular nouns for database table namesFirst breakout · Best thread | pkkm | 89 | 104 |
| 2025-09-05 | Use singular nouns for database table namesLatest 20+ point return | Bogdanp | 44 | 50 |
| 2025-09-06 | Use singular nouns for database table names | vinhnx | 2 | 1 |