One of the most exciting aspects of being a new boat owner is naming your vessel. Take a drive to the local marina, walk around the slips, and you’re sure to see plenty of interesting boat names.
From “Golden Slipper” to “Angelica” and many more, there are so many options for selecting your boat’s name that it can leave you swamped with indecision.
Whether you want to name your boat after your favorite song, a pun, or a short quote, settling on the right name takes some time.
One thing is for sure when you complete the christening ceremony and name your vessel, there’s no going back from your decision.
We put together this helpful guide on how to name a boat to take the stress and hassle out of the task.
Contents
Why Do We Name Boats?
Most of us don’t name our cars like the “General Lee” from the “Dukes of Hazard” or “Kit” from “Knight Rider.” However, naming a boat is essential. It’s a part of maritime tradition and a blessing of good luck for the vessel and its voyages.
The culture of naming boats started more than a thousand years ago. Captains would name their vessels after gods as a sign of tribute and respect, asking the deity to watch over the boat and its crew while at sea.
Some sailors believed the choice of name for the vessel could mean the difference between a successful journey and being lost at sea. Christening a boat has always included a ceremony involving the use of wine or champagne or some form of elite beverage that’s hard to procure.
The custom started with boat owners pouring the wine over the boat as an offering to the gods. The ceremony would occur under the full moon’s light at high tide. Gradually, the culture evolved to include breaking bottles of champagne on the boat’s bow as a symbol of success and good luck when christening modern boats.
Should You Rename a Boat?
After you settle on a name for your boat, you’re kind of stuck with it for good. One of the deepest superstitions in the boating world revolves around renaming boats and the misfortune it brings to the crew and captain during journeys.
The myth of renaming boats and receiving bad luck extends back to the early days of sailing. When captains would rename boats, it was a shun to the deity or god they previously named the vessel after, defying their influence in the crew and captains’ safety at sea.
The original myth states that “the Ledger of the Deep” records the name of every sea-faring vessel taking to the ocean. The Ledger of the Deep is the god Poseidon’s personal record book. A captain would have to purge the vessel’s original name from the ledger to avoid bad luck bestowed upon himself and his crew. The captain would have to rid the world of every mention of the boat’s name to stay on the good side of the Greek god.
Most captains would burn the old name board of the boat and cast the ashes to the sea. After destroying all the parts of the ship bearing the vessel’s original name, you’ll have to conduct another christening ceremony using a special spell that we can’t repeat here.
Completing the ceremony is absolutely essential before heading out to sea, or captains run the risk of encountering the wrath of Poseidon.
Boat Naming Superstitions
The boating community also has several superstitions for christening and naming boats. Most of them involve no-go names that might bring you bad luck.
For example, naming the vessel after a hurricane or big storm at sea isn’t a good idea. Also, naming it after sunken vessels is a bad move, so forget about calling it the next “Titanic.”
Tradition also shows that it’s unlucky to name a boat with a name starting with the letter “O” or “A.” It’s also important to never perform a christening ceremony on a Friday.
Why Do Sailors Call Boats “She?”
One of the interesting phenomena around naming boats is that most owners choose to give them female names. Most people will also refer to vessels using the pronoun “she.” So, why do we link boats to the female gender?
The reality is that no one really knows why people started referring to ships and boats in the female form. One of the most reasonable answers for the practice comes from the early tradition of christening boats over a millennia ago.
Most captains would christen their boat with a goddess’ name. The tradition stuck, and that’s the most likely reason why we refer to boats and yachts as “she,” and it’s also why some motorists use it for their cars as well.
Top Tips for Naming a Boat
We recommend keeping the name of your boat short and sweet. There’s no need to use a string of words like “Gods Brilliant and Beautiful Sunrise” for your boat. “Gods Sunrise” would be a better choice. Stick to one or two words and seven to ten letters for the name.
The name needs to be short enough to fit on transoms and easy for the coast guard and others vessels to understand during emergency radio communications. Regardless of the marine superstitions involved with naming your boat, you want to choose something timeless that you won’t need to change later.
So, naming the boat after your wife is a bad idea since if you end up getting divorced, you’re likely going to want to change the boat’s name.
Most boat owners will name the vessel after a hobby or interest they have in their life that they are passionate about. For instance, if you’re a doctor, you could name the boat something like “Prescription,” “Doctor’s Order’s,” or “Checkup.”
Choosing a name with a double meaning or a pun is also a popular choice. For example, if you’re a legal professional, you could name the boat “Winning,” “Knot Guilty,” or “The Verdict.” The name should match the owner’s identity and the boat itself.
A good name blends the owner’s personality with how they managed to procure the boat in their life. For example, if you’re a firefighter naming a cruiser, you could call the vessel the “Hook and Hose.” However, if you’re looking for a name that would suit a high-performance boat, “Backdraft” or “Inferno” might be a better choice.
It’s also common for people to name boats after their favorite movie or song. However, we recommend keeping the name to a nautical reference if you go this route. Calling your boat “The Black Pearl” after the legendary vessel from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise would be a good example.
Here are the key takeaways you need to know about naming your boat.
- Choose a name that’s one to three words long.
- The name should fit on the transom.
- The name needs to be easy to read and repeat in emergency communications.
- Don’t name the boat after emergency situations, such as “man overboard.”
- Keep it classy and avoid racists and sexist names.
- Remember, you’re going to have to say the name over the radio to strangers at some time, so don’t name the boat anything that’s embarrassing to repeat over an open channel.
Considerations for Naming Your Boat
How Big Is the Vessel?
What is the size of the boat?
What Type of Boat Do You Want to Name?
Is it a traditional sailing yacht? A superyacht? A bay boat or a bass boat? The type of boat and its purpose could give you a few ideas.
What is the Personality of the Boat?
What are the unique characteristics of your boat?
What Mood Should the Name Convey to Passengers?
Does the boat’s name inspire humor, confidence, adventure, or relaxation?
What Is Your Favorite Marine Animal?
Dolphins, sharks, rays, whales – there are plenty of options.
What Do You Do for a Living?
How do you earn money?
What Do You Do for Fun?
What are your hobbies and passions in life?
Other considerations.
- What pop culture references do you love? What songs and movies are your favorites?
- Think about a traditional swashbuckling name for the vessel.
- Try a lifestyle name or use a foreign language term.
Try a Name Generator if You’re Stuck for Ideas
If you really have no idea what to name your boat, you can rely on technology to handle the naming process for you. You’ll find a few boat name generators online offering you everything you need to name your vessel.
Enter a few inputs like your name, profession, and favorite pastimes of movies and songs, and the generator calculates the name for you, giving you several options.
- https://www.lingerandlook.com/Names/BoatNames.htm
- https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/ship-names.php
- https://www.names4brands.com/boat-name-generator.php
Settling On the Right Name for Your Boat
It will take some time to settle on the right name for your boat. To boat owners, the practice of naming their boat is nearly as important as naming a child. Like your kids, you can’t just rename the boat a few months later to something else. Poseidon wouldn’t agree.
We recommend you write down a list of your top five to ten names and keep them on your phone for a week or so. Stare at the list every time you have a spare moment, and some of the names will begin to; look more attractive than others.
Ask your friends and family members for suggestions based on your ideas. Toss around your list of names with colleagues at work and keep the names in the back of your mind at all times.
The more feedback you get, the easier the selection process gets. By the end of the second week, you’ll have your boat’s new name ready for the christening ceremony.
Christening a Boat with its New Name
Cultures around the world have differences in how they christen boats. The Vikings are the first culture to christen ships.
However, they didn’t do it by cracking a bottle of champagne. Instead, they would make a human sacrifice to the gods as a way to bless the crew.
Middle-age European traditions involved sprinkling holy water over the boat.
The British Navy started the popular culture of smashing a bottle of high-quality champagne on the boat’s bow. This practice is no longer honored due to the environmental waste caused by the broken bottle in the Marina.
Some of the common modern christening ceremonies are the following.
- Gather your friends and family to launch your boat for the first time.
- Pass around a glass of champagne to everyone for a celebratory drink.
- Place a large green leaf, like a palm, on the bow to symbolize the safe return to the land from your voyages.
- Name the boat with a toast and pour a glass of champagne out over the bow.
Take Your Family or Friends Out for a Ride
After naming the boat, it’s time to take everyone out on the lake, river, or ocean for a spin. Remember to take it easy on your christening drive.
The last thing you need is to go too fast and end up in an accident on your first time on the boat – that would be severe bad luck for future journeys. Play it safe and take a slow christening drive – resist the urge to open the throttle on your maiden voyage.
If you decide to go against the norm and smash a bottle of bubbly on the bow, remember this; The bottle is likely more durable than you think.
You might end up swinging it, only to find the bottle doesn’t break. However, the impact may cause damage to the hull and the paintwork, cracking the gel coating, ruining the finish of the vessel. Targeting a stainless steel cleat is a better choice than the fiberglass hull.
If you want to save the environment, we recommend placing the bottle inside a carrier bag as you swing it. This strategy collects the glass from the break instead of going into the marina where it might cut people’s feet.
