VMS Help POSIX Threads, PTHREAD routines, pthread_attr_getname_np, Description  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

    This routine copies the object name attribute from the thread
    attributes object specified by the attr argument to the buffer
    at the location specified by the name argument. Before calling
    this routine, your program must allocate the buffer indicated by
    name. A new thread created using the thread attributes object is
    initialized with the object name that was set in that attributes
    object.

    The object name is a C language string and provides an identifier
    that is meaningful to a person debugging a multithreaded
    application. The maximum number of characters in the object name
    is 31.

    If the specified thread attributes object has not been previously
    set with an object name, this routine copies a C language null
    string into the buffer at location name.

    This routine contrasts with pthread_getname_np(), which obtains
    the object name from the thread object for an existing thread.