Ship names....Why no USS Kirk, etc?

[The Old Mixer]

Alright everybody, the soldiers/serial killers tangent is now officially over. @Timo , you'd be well advised to refrain from making such a provocative swipe in the future.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

I just remembered, the USS Tolstoy from "Best of Both Worlds" was scripted as the USS Chekov, but changed when they decided the reference was "too cute"

I'd have to agree with that one. Naming a ship after Anton Chekov would be understandable enough, but merely calling it 'USS Chekov' would inevitably lead people to believe it was named for Pavel, which would be... weird. He's a sweet character, don't get me wrong, but none of his appearances ever gave the impression that he would go on to be one of Starfleet's great heroes.

 

[SpyOne]

USS James Kirk doesn't fit the pattern of Starfleet ship names.
The ship Kruge destroyed at the Genesis Planet was not USS Gus Grissom.
The ship Kirk served aboard, and the one that met the Enterprise-D, did not specify if they were named for David Farragut, his father George, Farragut of Girgenti, or the recent NFL player of that name.

If Starfleet named a ship after James T. kirk, it would be USS Kirk.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Or the U.S.S. Watercress
Or U.S.S. Arugula.

Oooh howabout U.S.S. Taco Salad?

Your choice, my friend.

 

[Mysterion]

USS James Kirk doesn't fit the pattern of Starfleet ship names.
The ship Kruge destroyed at the Genesis Planet was not USS Gus Grissom.
The ship Kirk served aboard, and the one that met the Enterprise-D, did not specify if they were named for David Farragut, his father George, Farragut of Girgenti, or the recent NFL player of that name.

If Starfleet named a ship after James T. kirk, it would be USS Kirk.

Maybe, maybe not. In the present day the USN does it both ways. I think it would depend on the specific case. You could probably have a USS Kirk in Starfleet and folks would know exactly who it was names for. However a USS Scott might be a bit more ambiguous. Is the ship named after Apollo astronaut Dave Scott or the Starfleet engineer Montgomery Scott? Or the british explorer of the Antarctic? In that sort of case calling it USS Montgomery Scott would be in order, IMO.