And being a mistake, why was it never fixed early on?
Maybe because it became part of the jargon and served a useful purpose --- if you mention creat, it's certain you're talking about the system call and not creation in general.
Personally, I like names which are close enough to an existing concept to be evocative of the meaning, but also distinct enough that, just like "byte" vs "bite" and "nybble" vs "nibble", a (non-stupid) search engine can give relevant results.
Maybe because it became part of the jargon and served a useful purpose --- if you mention creat, it's certain you're talking about the system call and not creation in general.
Personally, I like names which are close enough to an existing concept to be evocative of the meaning, but also distinct enough that, just like "byte" vs "bite" and "nybble" vs "nibble", a (non-stupid) search engine can give relevant results.