Why does JavaScript navigator.appName return Netscape for Safari, Firefox and Chrome?

Question

Why does navigator.appName return \"Netscape\" for Safari, Firefox and Chrome?

What do they have to do with the old browser Netscape? Could it be becaus

Answer 1

Starting in IE11, Explorer will now also return "Netscape" when calling navigator.appName;

Update Although this answer is rather outdated by now, here is the link for the statement above: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/internet-explorer/ie-developer/dev-guides/bg182625(v=vs.85)?redirectedfrom=MSDN#legacy-api-additions-changes-and-removals