Starship Naming Schemes for a new Sci-Fi universe

[Shawnster]

Nothing species specific. Nothing planet specific. Dealing with a multi-species civilization should cause ship names to be easily translatable cross-species. Dealing with human readers or viewers, ship names should require no explanation.

All planets with life are going to have enough similarities that can translate. All civilizations and species should have similar concepts that can easily translate.

Reliant, Enterprise, Freedom, Discovery, Challenger, Intrepid, Indefatigable.

Death's Head, Bloody Claw, Crushing Blow, Running One, Infinite Justice, Enduring Freedom

 

[Matthew Raymond]

All planets with life are going to have enough similarities that can translate. All civilizations and species should have similar concepts that can easily translate.

I don't entirely disagree, but the greater the difference between the various races, the harder it will be to find common terminology that will easily translate. It may make more sense to have a standard language and use names in that language specifically.

 

[Morpheus 02]

I don't entirely disagree, but the greater the difference between the various races, the harder it will be to find common terminology that will easily translate. It may make more sense to have a standard language and use names in that language specifically.

So can you tell us anything about this new universe....to help us in the naming? I still would love to see more ships named like they are in Andromeda...by far (to me), the most original naming scheme in visual sci-fi

 

[Matthew Raymond]

So can you tell us anything about this new universe....to help us in the naming?

Well, I meant in the general sense, not necessarily specific to me. I didn't mean to imply that people had to talk about my naming issues specifically. However, if you're so inclined...

I myself am creating ship names for an alliance of mostly human/transhuman colonies where each colony basically represents a particular school of transhuman philosophy (immortalism, postgenderism, libertarian transhumanism, technoprogressivism, bioconservativism, et cetera). So the libertarian transhumanist ships (owned by one of several dispute resolution organizations, because they supposedly don't have governments) could have the names of economists, business leaders or characters from Ayn Rand books, for example. The Alliance itself, however, would need names that are common to the ideals of all these different philosophies, as opposed to names that would be fit for different alien cultures (although I'm considering having one or two token alien races in there too). I suspect that would mean mostly names from history and fiction prior to the establishment of the first extrasolar colonies, so lots of what is currently pop culture might be fair game.

 

[B.J.]

USS Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra

 

[Agony_Boothb]

Maybe you could name them after literature? For example:

USS Brightness Reef
USS Meditations
USS Song of Sussanah
USS Dragons of Eden
USS Wolf Hall

 

[Shawnster]

I don't entirely disagree, but the greater the difference between the various races, the harder it will be to find common terminology that will easily translate. It may make more sense to have a standard language and use names in that language specifically.

I still think that if there are enough species in the federation, then there should be enough that understand basic concepts like hope, freedom, aspiration, greed, flight, claws, teeth, blood, skeletons, appendages, liberty, courage, strength, sky, star, sun, wind, water, lava, rocks, mountains, open spaces, plains, valleys, etc...

I mean, I don't care if you're an intelligent shade of blue, if you are a star faring civilization that goes from planet to planet, you'll understand the name "Grand Canyon" or "Fading Twilight."

 

[Matthew Raymond]

I mean, I don't care if you're an intelligent shade of blue, if you are a star faring civilization that goes from planet to planet, you'll understand the name "Grand Canyon" or "Fading Twilight."

Unless your planet is tidally locked to its star and doesn't have flowing water.

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Unless your planet is tidally locked to its star and doesn't have flowing water.

I would think that intelligent life (at least carbon-based/humaniod) would be inviable in the later case and tenuous at best in the former.