Ship Names

[NinjaRaiden2005]

So I have a question for everyone. I apologize if this has been asked elsewhere or doesn't go here. I was wanting to know if Starfleet has regulations regarding the naming of ships. The only constants I seem to find are things like science ships being named after famous scientists or space-related terms. Then of course there's the Runabouts which appear to be named after natural landmarks and rivers on Earth. The TOS Constitution class vessels were named after famous ships, more specifically American aircraft carriers in WWII.

The only tradition I've seen carried over from the real US Navy, which Starfleet was heavily based on, is naming the first ship of each class after the class itself (USS Constitution, USS Galaxy, USS Excelsior, etc). Maybe I'm not finding the resources I need for research, but so far I've found nothing stating regulations for naming ships. I admit I'm really wanting to know this because I have a named picked out for a story I'm going to be working on and would like to have it fit the setting and class of ship. Any answers to this or possible help with my story-related questions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[sbk1234]

There really hasn't been any established formula for naming ships. As you stated Runabouts on DS9 were named for Earth rivers. You should be fine with any name you pick for your ship.

 

[NinjaRaiden2005]

There really hasn't been any established formula for naming ships. As you stated Runabouts on DS9 were named for Earth rivers. You should be fine with any name you pick for your ship.

Thank you so much. I wasn't too sure about the Runabout example since in one episode the station gets a new one and Sisko is the one to name it. Seemed a little odd to me since I always thought Runabouts had their own registry like starships.

 

[LJS1138]

For the TV show, I think they didn't have a set naming basis. Sometimes, for informational screens, they'd give a ship a funny name... like the USS Elmer Fudd (NCC-85343). For my fan fiction, when I needed to make up a name for a ship, I decided to grab the last names of female scientists who were forgotten or not famous. You can choose names that mean something to you, or something to the character.

 

[J.T.B.]

The only tradition I've seen carried over from the real US Navy, which Starfleet was heavily based on, is naming the first ship of each class after the class itself (USS Constitution, USS Galaxy, USS Excelsior, etc).

Class names generally come from the name of the first ship, not the other way around.

 

[The Wormhole]

Thank you so much. I wasn't too sure about the Runabout example since in one episode the station gets a new one and Sisko is the one to name it. Seemed a little odd to me since I always thought Runabouts had their own registry like starships.

He still names them after Earth rivers. Indeed, in that very scene, Kira even comments "at the rate we go through runabouts, it's a good thing Earth has so many rivers."

 

[NinjaRaiden2005]

For the TV show, I think they didn't have a set naming basis. Sometimes, for informational screens, they'd give a ship a funny name... like the USS Elmer Fudd (NCC-85343). For my fan fiction, when I needed to make up a name for a ship, I decided to grab the last names of female scientists who were forgotten or not famous. You can choose names that mean something to you, or something to the character.

That doesn't really surprise me given all of the jokes the artists and set designers sprinkle in like the Porsche and hamster wheel on the Enterprise-D's MSD. My ship has the same name as my first ship in Star Trek Online being named after Amelia Earhart. As someone who loves flight and airplanes she's a historical figure I think highly of and she deserves a better tribute than that awful episode of Voyager gave her.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

You can also make up names of alien scientists, if you want.

 

[NinjaRaiden2005]

You can also make up names of alien scientists, if you want.

I tried coming up with a Romulan name once and gave up because of how complicated their naming system is. Probably not helped by me having a bit of a learning disability when it comes to reading complex steps without someone to help explain things to me.

 

[MacLeod]

So I have a question for everyone. I apologize if this has been asked elsewhere or doesn't go here. I was wanting to know if Starfleet has regulations regarding the naming of ships. The only constants I seem to find are things like science ships being named after famous scientists or space-related terms. Then of course there's the Runabouts which appear to be named after natural landmarks and rivers on Earth. The TOS Constitution class vessels were named after famous ships, more specifically American aircraft carriers in WWII.

The only tradition I've seen carried over from the real US Navy, which Starfleet was heavily based on, is naming the first ship of each class after the class itself (USS Constitution, USS Galaxy, USS Excelsior, etc). Maybe I'm not finding the resources I need for research, but so far I've found nothing stating regulations for naming ships. I admit I'm really wanting to know this because I have a named picked out for a story I'm going to be working on and would like to have it fit the setting and class of ship. Any answers to this or possible help with my story-related questions would be greatly appreciated.

Well yes and no, as many US ships named where used previously by the RN. Upon which the USN is based. And ST has been described as Hornblower in space I think.

Known Constituion Class ships that are named after British Vessels

USS Exeter
USS Hood

The Excalibur is no doubt named after the mythical sword from Authrian legend.

The Endavour is likely named after Captain Cook's ship HMS Bark Endeavour


As for the Defiant I believe that name came from the film Damn the Defiant! with the mistaken belief that there was a HMS Defiant.


The Potemkin I believe is named after a WWI Russain Battleship

But really you can pick any name you want, and have it a member of any class you want (though if you a setting it in a particualr time period best to use a name that we don't see)

 

[NinjaRaiden2005]

Well yes and no, as many US ships named where used previously by the RN. Upon which the USN is based. And ST has been described as Hornblower in space I think.

Known Constituion Class ships that are named after British Vessels

USS Exeter
USS Hood

The Excalibur is no doubt named after the mythical sword from Authrian legend.

The Endavour is likely named after Captain Cook's ship HMS Bark Endeavour


As for the Defiant I believe that name came from the film Damn the Defiant! with the mistaken belief that there was a HMS Defiant.


The Potemkin I believe is named after a WWI Russain Battleship

But really you can pick any name you want, and have it a member of any class you want (though if you a setting it in a particualr time period best to use a name that we don't see)

I really can't seem to decide on what class I want. I have a story-related reason for it being out there but I'm afraid it might be too silly and that has me worried that I'll pick the wrong one. I was initially wanting it to be a Connie refit, however since the setting is based on STO and its era I'm afraid it doesn't fit in. There's an in-game reason for the Connie being there, but anyone who has adapted stores from games knows that some things in a game don't translate well into other mediums. Just look at how the makers of Battleship had to fit in the pegs from the board game as alien weapons.

 

[sbk1234]

For my own purposes, I like to pick names that mean something to me. If used Horizon, for a now defunct Epcot attraction, Tranquility for the sight of the moon landing, Tycho for the location of the Monolith in 2001, for example.

 

[NinjaRaiden2005]

For my own purposes, I like to pick names that mean something to me. If used Horizon, for a now defunct Epcot attraction, Tranquility for the sight of the moon landing, Tycho for the location of the Monolith in 2001, for example.

I did some checking on Memory Alpha and there's already a starbase named after Amelia Earhart. Looks like I'll have to come up with something else. Definitely taking your advice here though. I'm glad I joined this site. Everyone is super helpful.

 

[C57D]

I did some checking on Memory Alpha and there's already a starbase named after Amelia Earhart. Looks like I'll have to come up with something else. Definitely taking your advice here though. I'm glad I joined this site. Everyone is super helpful.

My personal favourite is USS Fawcett ( motto " You need have no fear of any failure"). Named after Percy Fawcett a late 19th/early 20th C explorer of Amazonia.

 

[NinjaRaiden2005]

My personal favourite is USS Fawcett ( motto " You need have no fear of any failure"). Named after Percy Fawcett a late 19th/early 20th C explorer of Amazonia.

Very nice. A friend suggested I name it after Rosalind Franklin, a brilliant scientist in understanding whose work led to understanding the molecular structures of DNA and RNA. I'm probably gonna go with that.

 

[Sgt_G]

You may want to look at these two documents:

http://www.starfleetgames.com/documents/Fed NCC/Fed_NCC_Numbers.pdf
http://www.starfleetgames.com/documents/Starship_Name_Registry.pdf

Granted, they aren't Star Trek official but rather Star Fleet Battles official, but you might find an idea or two in there.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

At the risk of tooting my own proverbial horn...

I once submitted an entry to SNW which featured a ship named USS Berringer. I intended it to be a Shelley-class ship like the USS Curry from DS9's "A Time to Stand".

And in a fanfic I posted here many moons ago (and which has subsequently vanished), I featured an ENT-era Y-class cargo freighter called ECS Mychal Judge.

 

[Arpy]

They like to use names from Ancient Greek mythology, I've noticed. Or mythology overall. If you're really lost, pick an ancient hero (Perseus?), or, better yet, heroine (Antigone?). Maybe Google some non-Greek ones, and I say that as a Greek, myself.

What I'd like more of is alien names and names of historical figures from our future. Who was the[/a] leading mind of the 22nd century? What was the name of the first, and finest, Secretary General of the New United Nations? Maybe don't make them too Anglo, though...USS MacScottish.

Who was the Tellarite Socrates or the Betazoid Alexander, the Tiburonian Bach or the Bolian Bon Jovi?

There are themes: runabouts get Earth rivers, Luna Class starships (from Trek Lit) get Sol System moons (Titan, Europa, Ganymede, etc). And there are mini-themes, maybe for sets of starships approved at the same time: the Galaxy Class initially got an astronomical body (the Galaxy), a person (the Yamato), and a flagship (the Enterprise), but it also got a batch of synonymic starships (an Enterprise, a Venture, an Odyssey).

Maybe match the theme of the ship to its purpose. If your ships is a clipper ship (designed for speed) choose a name that suggests speed (Hermes, Mercury, Chase, Swift, Comet, Shooting Star, Marathon, etc).

 

[The Wormhole]

There are themes: runabouts get Earth rivers, Luna Class starships (from Trek Lit) get Sol System moons (Titan, Europa, Ganymede, etc). And there are mini-themes, maybe for sets of starships approved at the same time: the Galaxy Class initially got an astronomical body (the Galaxy), a person (the Yamato), and a flagship (the Enterprise), but it also got a batch of synonymic starships (an Enterprise, a Venture, an Odyssey).

In the novels they try to establish naming patterns for each ship class, but they don't always succeed in that plan. For example, the Archer class, a 23rd century scout ship created for the novels is supposed to have a name pattern of archery related names, though that was ignored when a novel had an Archer class USS Montana.

Another naming pattern the novels have created is naming the Sovereign class after famous rulers (USS Honorius) or titles for rulers (USS President, USS First Minister). Though other novels certainly disregarded that as well.

However, aside from runabouts being named after Earth rivers, the show has not really adhered to any kind of naming pattern for the ships at all.

 

[johnar]

So I have a question for everyone. I apologize if this has been asked elsewhere or doesn't go here. I was wanting to know if Starfleet has regulations regarding the naming of ships. The only constants I seem to find are things like science ships being named after famous scientists or space-related terms. Then of course there's the Runabouts which appear to be named after natural landmarks and rivers on Earth. The TOS Constitution class vessels were named after famous ships, more specifically American aircraft carriers in WWII.

The only tradition I've seen carried over from the real US Navy, which Starfleet was heavily based on, is naming the first ship of each class after the class itself (USS Constitution, USS Galaxy, USS Excelsior, etc). Maybe I'm not finding the resources I need for research, but so far I've found nothing stating regulations for naming ships. I admit I'm really wanting to know this because I have a named picked out for a story I'm going to be working on and would like to have it fit the setting and class of ship. Any answers to this or possible help with my story-related questions would be greatly appreciated.

To say nothing of the numbering!

I once heard the designater was the first 2 numbers then the rest were the succession of ships in that type or design.

Enterprise was the 1st of the 17th type. NCC -- 17 - 01 (exaggerated).
It was about the time of the first generation Star Trek models that the USS Constitution NCC -- 1700 was declared the class designater for the Enterprise type. I suppose on the basis that TOS was about a run of the mill starship that became famous from its missions and crew.
They (the modelers) also lumped several starships into the 1700 class that were from earlier classes / numbering. Farragut, Republic to name two (see epi "Court Martial" repair status board in base commander's office.