Whether you are creating a spacefaring transport vessel or a wooden sloop, a good name for a ship or vessel can become central to the lore of any fictional world. The Millennium Falcon, the Nautilus, the Enterprise, the HMS Bounty are all examples of names that have transcended their own worlds to become a part of popular culture. Naming a ship or vessel that exists in your world can be an intimate endeavor, but below you will find examples and suggestions that may inspire you whether you are creating a single, central ship or one support vessel in a massive fleet.

GENDER

Historically, ships have often been referred to as being female. This spans from captains referring to the vessel as ‘she’ or ‘her’ to the ship even possessing a stereotypical female name such as ‘the Uncouth Lady’ or ‘the Queen Daphne II.’ While this is true in our own world, there’s no reason this needs to be the case in yours. In addition, names and pronouns that run against this trend are not uncommon. As always, choose a name and any potential gender (or none) that best reflects your own creation.

PREFIX

Ships and vessels often possess a prefix before their name that is generally abbreviated. This prefix can designate them as belonging to a specific country, company, or whether the ship is part of a military or merchant fleet.

• USS: United States Ship
• HMS: Her Majesty’s Ship
• EV: Exploration Vessel
• HTV: Heavy Transport Vessel

See Common Ship & Vessel Prefixes

CLASSES

Classes are used to further categorize ships. Ships of the same class are similar in build and design. These ships are often referred to as sister ships and commonly have names that have something in common with one another (such as starting with a similar letter, all being named for generals, or all being named after mythological animals).

• Nimitz
• Horizon
• Zumwalt
• Sigma
• Sentinel
• Dreadnaught

See Navy Vessel Types & Classes

HISTORICAL FIGURES

Often ships are given names of famous historical figures. These may be generals, monarchs, religious figures, or others. Naming a ship after a historical figure can add additional depth to your world.

TRAITS

Vessels and ships are often given names reflecting a specific attribute or trait. In general, this trait reflects the primary purpose of the vessel. Examples of this would be an exploration vessel named “Discovery’ or a warship named ‘Triumph.’

ANIMALS

Often ships are named after animals (either because the vessel bears some resemblance to the creature or because the animal represents some aspect the vessel wishes to emulate). If the vessel is a spaceship often the animal will be a bird of some kind.

• Lark
• Falcon
• Magpie
• Boar
• Seadog
• Lion
• Rabbit

MYTHOLOGICAL & THE FANTASTIC

Ships may be named after mythological and/or supernatural beings. Examples of this would be “the Unicorn,’ and ‘Neptune.’ If your world contains its own religion or myths consider using these as names.

Does your world use its’ own unique prefixes for ships belonging to certain fictional countries or companies? If so, what are they?

• Endeavor
• Scar
• Intrepid
• Voyager
• Exploration
• Eureka
• Savage
• Fogskip
• Enterprise
• Oppressor
• Bell
• Advantage
• Ark
• Bull
• Centurion
• Commander
• Defiance
• Drake
• Dreadnaught
• Foresight
• Messenger
• Revenge
• Scout
• Serpent
• Spy
• Swallow
• Triumph
• Vanguard
• Nebula

• Victory
• Warforged
• Avenger
• Dauntless
• Bounty
• Defender
• Adept
• Arrow
• Assassin
• Ardent
• Blight
• Formidable
• Forbidden
• Blackburn
• Chivalry
• Champion
• Constitution
• Diligent
• Gallant
• Gauntlet
• Harpy
• Shadow
• Cloud
• Nimbus
• Nimble
• Persistence
• Boggart
• Imp
• Clam

• Demented
• Hellfire
• Drowned
• Knife
• Hammer
• Anvil
• Tempest
• Gale
• Northwind
• Tradewind
• Inferno
• Vile
• Shepard
• Starfarer
• Trident
• Poseidon
• Odysseus
• Argo
• Storm
• Ill Marie
• Vengeance
• Unbowed
• Unbroken
• Untamed
• Neptune
• Fearless
• Wild
• Clam
• Manta