# Ship names in Star Trek **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2001, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523 "2001-08-01T19:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/1 "2001-08-01T19:50:15Z")
I’m not a Star Trek fan, but I find it fascinating as a closed system of history, technology, politics and relations between different peoples. What I’d like to ask: Is there any meaning in Federation ship names and numbers? Most ships have a number consisting of NCC with several digits following, and a name with a the three prefix letters USS (how do you call those letters, btw? Every ship in real life has a set of them before the actual name). This can hardly mean _United States Ship_, as it does in real life. Is there any system in the nomenclature of Federation ships? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/2 "2001-08-01T20:17:54Z")
There have been several groupings of names; I don’t have my docs with me, but there were famous admirals/other ships (Potemkin, Hood, Yorktown), famous peacekeepers or otherwise non-combatants (Gandhi, Pasteur), and assorted inspirational words (Enterprise, Voyager, Stargazer, Intrepid). Then there’s the Mariposa, but I have no idea why they chose that name… ---
**Author:** ![Lockz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Lockz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lockz)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/3 "2001-08-01T20:24:07Z")
Maybe United Star Ship for USS? ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/4 "2001-08-01T20:29:01Z")
USS was for United Star Ship (United federation of Planets) The NCC #### was the ships designation number. All the ships use NCC (not sure what that meant) But there was once a breakdown where originally the numbers designated the class of the vessel. IE NCC 17XX designated a Constitution class vessel, NCC 18XX were destroyers etc. That changed as the movies and new series progressed. In the end it really means nothing as the numbers just make the ships look more official, and it is after all just a TV show. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/5 "2001-08-01T20:29:15Z")
The original explanation for “USS” was “United Space Ship,” but I believe that has fallen on disfavor with purists and it is now simply accepted as one of those things that don’t stand for anything, like “NCC,” which was once explaned (apocryphally I believe) as standing for “Naval Construction Contract.” ---
**Author:** ![Arken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Arken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arken)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/6 "2001-08-01T20:30:50Z")
As with everything Star Trek, some geek spent way too much time compiling a list of ships, names, designations, etc. I found it with Google. You may find it here: [http://www.cs.umanitoba.ca/~djc/startrek/expand/federation1.html](http://www.cs.umanitoba.ca/~djc/startrek/expand/federation1.html) ---
**Author:** ![Danimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Danimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danimal)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/7 "2001-08-01T20:31:39Z")
NCC stands for Naval Construction Contract. I think the “USS” started as a goof, but the semi-official explanation is that it stands for “United Star Ship” with the “Federation” being implied after “United.” ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/8 "2001-08-01T20:43:43Z")
I had understood it was United Systems Starship. United Space Ship or United Star Ship doesn’t refer to the overarcing entity at all; it just means the ship itself is united. Presumably, you’d lose the USS designation if the Klingons fragged you. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/9 "2001-08-01T21:25:08Z")
Runabouts, the new version of shuttlecraft, are typically named after Earth rivers. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/10 "2001-08-01T21:52:22Z")
A great many of the combat ship names spawn from those of actual distinguished naval vessels which served in His/Her Majesty’s Service: Exeter, Hermes, Agamemnon, Repulse, Ajax, Victory, etc. Similarly, a number of ships are named after distinguished American naval vessels: Essex, Constitution, Kearsarge, and of course, Enterprise. I theorize that there are more British names than there are American names for two reasons. First, American ships often borrowed their names from British ships (the Big E being one of them). Second, there are a lot more distinguished British ships! (I suppose that’s an argument for another day.) Science and research vessels also often take their names from naval ships of the same background: Endeavour, Beagle, and (possibly) Challenger One of the most endearing traits of the ships the Star Trek universe is that their naming schema by class is only somewhat consistent, just like real ships of the world’s navies. For example, _Kearsarge_ was an American battleship not named for a state. ---
**Author:** ![Arken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@Arken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arken)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/11 "2001-08-01T22:15:35Z")
You know, after looking over the list I posted the URL to above, I realized that the non-Terrans in the Federation must feel really put down by “the man”… Every single Starfleet ship which is named after something is named after something from Earth. One ship was named the ‘Valley Forge’! Like they’re going to care about a decisive battle in a country which no longer exists almost half a millenia from now. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/12 "2001-08-01T22:36:49Z")
You are a real old-time Trekkie/Trekker if you can name all twelve of the TOS ships: _Enterprise Excalibur Constitution Constellation_ (great name for a STAR ship!) _Exeter Hood Intrepid Potemkin Defiant Bonhomme Richard Lexington Yorktown_ Please note that not all of these ships were actually seen in TOS, but they were all in the Writer’s Guide. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/13 "2001-08-01T22:47:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jab1 \* > \*\*You are a real old-time Trekkie/Trekker if you can name all twelve of the TOS ships: > > _Enterprise > Excalibur > Constitution > Constellation_ (great name for a STAR ship!) > _Exeter > Hood > Intrepid > Potemkin > Defiant > Bonhomme Richard > Lexington > Yorktown_ > > Please note that not all of these ships were actually seen in TOS, but they were all in the Writer’s Guide. \*\* Note that all are Anglo-American, with one crumb thrown to the Russkies. 🙂 Not only is the Federation earth-dominated, but apparently English-dominated. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2001, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/14 "2001-08-01T22:57:07Z")
True. They tried to remedy this in the sequel series by using names like _Yamato, Tiananmen, Tsiolkovsky, Tecumseh, Okinawa,_ etc. The official alphabetized list of all ships seen in movies and on TV is linked [here.](http://www.startrek.com/library/ships.asp) ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2001, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/15 "2001-08-02T00:01:38Z")
And, since it might come up eventually, experimental ships, such as the Defiant (and incidentally, the Enterprise in the new series), have an NX-##### designation. (The Enterprise is NX-01.) -Brianjedi (Just because I’m a Jedi doesn’t mean I don’t like Trek.) ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2001, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/16 "2001-08-02T01:39:04Z")
I found it curious that they used so many naval traditions and naming conventions while not giving a new ship of the same name a different hull number as a previous one. Hull numbers are not reused and letter suffixes indicated variants in aircraft types. Having the first two digits of the hull numbe indicate class doesn’t wash as the various incarnations of Enterprise are each of a different class, or so says the NCC-1701-D poster in my office. Sailors on the USS Enterprise (CV-65) refer to it as the “big E” but I doubt if any federation types would get the Elvis reference. FWIW Constellation (CV-64) is a great name for a great sea going ship too. I just hope they don’t have a starship Ranger (CV-61). That boat had bad karma. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2001, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/17 "2001-08-02T01:59:33Z")
Gene Rodenberry said that NCC means nothing. He saw that aircraft numbers begin with ‘NC’ and he just added another ‘C’. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/18 "2001-08-02T02:27:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Padeye \* > \*\*Sailors on the USS Enterprise (CV-65) refer to it as the “big E” but I doubt if any federation types would get the Elvis reference. \*\* \ Actually, the name “Big E” started with the WWII era **CV-6** Enterprise (and has no relation to Elvis). In fact in 1962 was published _The Big E, the story of the USS Enterprise_ by Commander Edward P. Stafford, USN, relating the exploits of this grand lady during the war. Go there if you want to know more about the various [Enterprises](http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3098/entpris.htm), both historical and fictional ones. \ ---
**Author:** ![the\_coffeehood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9dc877/32.png) [@the\_coffeehood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_coffeehood)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2001, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/19 "2001-08-02T14:49:16Z")
The Starfleet starship registry prefix “NCC” doesn’t officially mean anything other than it is the standard prefix for starships in service. There have been other prefixes, notably “NX,” denoting a prototype, or experimental vessel. The two most famous ships with this prefix would be the U.S.S. Excelsior NX-2000 and the U.S.S. Defiant NX-74205. Once the U.S.S. Excelsior was rendered operational, the prefix changed to the standard NCC. When Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was asked this question, he replied that there was no significance to the letters and numbers comprising the registry of the U.S.S. Enterprise. At the time Star Trek first aired, airplanes commonly had “NC” on them, and adding the extra “C” updated the look. Original series art director Matt Jefferies is reported to have said that he chose the “1701” number because it was legible from a distance. ---
**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2001, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523/20 "2001-08-02T18:04:30Z")
FWIW: NC and NX were used only on US civil aricraft before and possibly just after WW2. The Spirit of St Louis was NX-#### (I forget the number) because (so I was told) N was and is for the US and X is for experimental. NC was US, Commercial. The thing to remember is that it’s just a TV show, and the people who come up with the names basically pull them out of their ass. I was in a bookstore and was perusing a clearance Star Trek book that listed some of the different ships by name, number, and so on and noted that a disproportionate number of them had to do with California. Based on these names, I would make the educated guess that the writer of the book and probably the assocaition or whatever that picks the names is out of southern California. At least there’s no starship “John Stennis” or “Carl Vinson”. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see a USS San Fernando, or USS Malibu. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ship-names-in-star-trek/74523.md?page=2)