# Cool Ship or Boat Names. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 24, 2007, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756 "2007-08-24T13:40:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/61 "2007-08-26T20:13:23Z")
_Deathdealer_ from _The Armageddon Inheritance_ _Death of Worlds_, from the Warhammer 40k game ( don’t play but I’ve heard the name ) _Cornucopia of Goods at Excellent Prices_, from the Haviland Tuf stories. _Shining in the Void_, from the Island Worlds series. As said, the Culture books have lots of cool ship names. [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_%28The_Culture%29) has a list. _Sovereign of Space_ from the Honor Harrington series. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/62 "2007-08-27T00:23:13Z")
[QUOTE=Fiver] I had an instructor at SWOS (or OCS; I forget which) who’d been an officer on _Pegasus,_ and he told us a fascinating story about one night in the Caribbean. They were traveling foil-born in the middle of the night, making full speed, when suddenly a terrific sound and shock rocked the ship. Immediately they began having trouble staying on course and foil-borne, so they raised the foil and limped back to Key West hull-borne. The next morning it was discovered that the forward foil was badly damaged, and a whale vertebra was lodged in it. [/QUOTE] This happened in '88, too, I believe. My ship was doing LEO (Law Emforcement Ops) with the hydrofoils at the time. Might have been your guy’s Pegasus (there were only 6 of them, so chances are good). Chunks o’whale can mess up a turbine engine! ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/63 "2007-08-27T03:09:34Z")
It took me a google to find it. Bucky O’Hare’s spaceship, “Righteous Indignation” Anybody else wish they could “re-frag” their grey matter? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/64 "2007-08-27T03:43:58Z")
For reasons which someone who knows Japanese could probably explain, numerous Japanese ships are named “Fuk-_something_”. There’s the “Fukkue”, numerous “Fukuyu _[something]_”'s etc. I know someone who’s yacht is named “The Office”. Useful when explaining to your wife where you are. ---
**Author:** ![meek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce73a5/32.png) [@meek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meek)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/65 "2007-08-27T13:55:37Z")
“College Fund” on a 30 foot yacht made me smile. . ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/66 "2007-08-27T14:54:22Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] …I know someone who’s yacht is named “The Office”. Useful when explaining to your wife where you are. [/QUOTE] There’s a bar in Cleveland with the same name, for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/67 "2007-08-27T15:17:14Z")
[QUOTE=Balance] Niven’s Known Space stories have some interesting ship names: **Long Shot** (an experimental Quantum 2 hyperdrive ship flown by Beowulf Schaeffer, which had no throttle) **Skydiver** (a ship built to make a close exploratory approach to a neutron star) **Drunkard’s Walk** (Larchmont Bellamy’s ship in _Grendel_) **Lying Bastard** (the ship that took Louis Wu, Speaker-to-Animals, Nessus, and Teela Brown to _Ringworld_) [/QUOTE] I was always partial to **Hot Needle of Inquiry** , myself. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/68 "2007-08-27T18:30:36Z")
[QUOTE=bump] I was always partial to **Hot Needle of Inquiry** , myself. [/QUOTE] It’s undeniably catchy, but I already had several Ob’enn ships with similarly vivid names in the post, and I didn’t want to overdo it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/69 "2007-08-27T20:03:32Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] > [@Princhester](#): > > …I know someone who’s yacht is named “The Office”. Useful when explaining to your wife where you are. here’s a bar in Cleveland with the same name, for the same reason. [/QUOTE] There used to be a bar in LA called the “Branch Office” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/70 "2007-08-27T20:13:23Z")
Several U.S. Navy ships have gained nicknames based on their history, and they’ve never been shaken. For example:\* After the infamous flight deck incident, the carrier _Forrestal_ became _Forest Fire._ When several of her sailors were separated for homosexuality, _Kearsarge_ became _Queersarge._ For obvious reasons, _Willamette_ became _We’llRamIt._ \*My examples are unfortunately many years out of date. I’ve been a civilian a long time. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/71 "2007-08-27T20:14:07Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] For reasons which someone who knows Japanese could probably explain, numerous Japanese ships are named “Fuk-_something_”. There’s the “Fukkue”, numerous “Fukuyu _[something]_”'s etc. [/QUOTE] Well, if you look at the Japanese trawler I’d mentioned: Daigo Fukuryu Maru, I’ll give it a try. I’ve got the English translation of the name, and one bit of knowledge that can help me parse it. First, the English language name is Lucky Dragon #5. And the phoneme “ryu” often means dragon. So it seems that Fukuryu then refers to a lucky dragon, or a dragon of luck. Which implies that fuku represents at least one Japanese word for luck. Which isn’t the least useful trait to wish to instill upon a ship. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/72 "2007-08-27T20:35:30Z")
A few years ago, folks moored in the same harbor as ours had set their anchor poorly, and their yacht was dragged right through the harbor overnight – thankfully, narrowly missing the boats in its path. Its name? _Sea Dragon._ I kid you not. ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/73 "2007-08-27T21:58:38Z")
[QUOTE=drachillix] Coolness, noboy has mentioned my Favorite…being an old heinlen fan, it just has to be _Rodger Young_ in reference to the ship from Starship Troopers. [/QUOTE] I named all the cruisers in my [_Battlefleet Gothic_ fleet](http://www.peteandkellie.com/wh40k/bfg.html) after the ships in _Starship Troopers_. The _Rodge_ is a Fast Corvette – a smaller ship – and Rico explains that all the small ships are given the names of soldiers or military leaders, like the _Rodger Young_, _Geronimo_, _Xenephon_, and _Audie Murphy_. The larger ships are named for historic battlefields; _Waterloo_, _Ypres_, _Valley Forge_, and so on. There’s a scene where, after recovering from an injury during “Operation Royalty”, Rico sees the fleet assembled outside in nearby space, and explains to a fellow soldier that _he_ thinks there ought to be one called the _Ramon Magsaysay_, too. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/74 "2007-08-27T22:05:14Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Well, if you look at the Japanese trawler I’d mentioned: Daigo Fukuryu Maru, I’ll give it a try. [/QUOTE] Does “Maru” indicate that it is a merchant vessel? ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/75 "2007-08-27T22:14:51Z")
Honestly? I don’t know exactly what “maru” indicates or means. I _think_ it’s an indicator of a non-warship, but I won’t swear to that. (I say non-warship, instead of merchant vessel, since ISTR that several cargo vessels operated by the Japanese Navy during WWII had the “maru” suffix. Check out the list of ships sunk at Truk Lagoon. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2007, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/76 "2007-08-27T23:25:40Z")
The Otiose Rehearsal. Just because it tickled me when I found that the word otiose had come from a word meaning ‘leasure’ and that one archaic meaning for it is ‘idle’. And I don’t know if it would work for a boat, but there used to be a video game parlor in Davis that was named The Library. I always enjoyed that. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/77 "2007-08-28T05:25:10Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Honestly? I don’t know exactly what “maru” indicates or means. I _think_ it’s an indicator of a non-warship, but I won’t swear to that. (I say non-warship, instead of merchant vessel, since ISTR that several cargo vessels operated by the Japanese Navy during WWII had the “maru” suffix. Check out the list of ships sunk at Truk Lagoon. [/QUOTE] That’s my understanding, too. I know of no Japanese warships of any era that use(d) the “maru” suffix. I remember reading years ago that it roughly translates as “Ship named [blank].” ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/78 "2007-08-28T14:22:23Z")
All the other good entries aside, I think _Family Guy_’s Peter Griffin [has everybody beat](http://www.peteandkellie.com/images/family_guy_boat.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/79 "2007-08-28T15:22:24Z")
I always thought HMS Splendid sounded like, well, a splendid ship to serve on. The Royal Navy has had some quite appropriate names for their ships over the years, Vengance, Revenge, Erebus etc. Other than that, we thought my sister’s name, Síofra, was pretty uncommon until we saw a Mini driver with the name on their registration plate and a boat in Kinsale Co. Cork named the same. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2007, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756/80 "2007-08-28T15:26:08Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] The Royal Navy surely has the coolest names. _Victory, Illustrious, Indefatigable, Victoria._ [/QUOTE] Borage, Pennywort, Bluebell, Geranium… Yep, those are real WWII British navy ship names. Flower-class corvettes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-ship-or-boat-names/416756.md?page=5)