I was pleased that the W3C RDF Data Access WG (DAWG) agreed (minutes yet to appear) to my proposal to finally decide the meaning of the name SPARQL being used for the query language and protocol we're making. This re-defines my initial naming so now SPARQL stands for: SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language
Lovely! I was inspired by GNU and that era of hacker naming.
I still enjoy the connotations of the pronounciation sparkle - think sparklers (UK? fireworks), shiny things, winter holiday decorations, glitter, toys. Fun stuff. Calling it RQuery would have just been dull dull dull :)
You can play with initial SPARQL demos using my Rasqal RDF query demo or Andy Seaborne's SPARQLer demo (more complete).