Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress Page: 5 of 24
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Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress
categories for ship types now being built, as approved by the Secretary of the Navy; the
distribution of geographic names of ships ofthe Fleet; names borne by previous ships which
distinguished themselves in service; names recommended by individuals and groups; and
names of naval leaders, national figures, and deceased members of the Navy and Marine
Corps who have been honored for heroism in war or for extraordinary achievement in peace.
In its final form, after consideration at the various levels of command, the Chief of Naval
Operations signs the memorandum recommending names for the current year's building
program and sends it to the Secretary of the Navy. The Secretary considers these
nominations, along with others he receives as well as his own thoughts in this matter. At
appropriate times, he selects names for specific ships and announces them.
While there is no set time for assigning a name, it is customarily done before the ship is
christened.4
Naming Rules for Ship Types
Evolution over Time
Rules for giving certain types of names to certain types of Navy ships have evolved over time.
Attack submarines, for example, were once named for fish, then later for cities, and most recently
for states, while cruisers were once named for cities, then later for states,5 and most recently for
battles. State names, to cite another example, were given to battleships, then later to nuclear-
powered cruisers and ballistic missile submarines, and are now being given to attack submarines.
The Navy states that while it "has attempted to be systematic in naming its ships, like all
institutions it has been subject to evolutionary change, and the name sources of the Navy's ships
have not been immune to this change."6
Exceptions
There have been numerous exceptions to the Navy's ship-naming rules, particularly for the
purpose of naming a ship for a person when the rule for that type of ship would have called for it
to be named for something else.' Some observers in recent years have perceived a breakdown in,
or corruption of, the rules for naming Navy ships.8 For example, the three-ship Seawolf (SSN-21)
class of attack submarines-Seawolf(SSN-21), Connecticut (SSN-22), and Jimmy Carter (SSN-
23)-were named for a fish, a state, and a President, respectively, reflecting no apparent rule.
4 Naval History and Heritage Command, "Ship Naming in the United States Navy," available online at
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq63- 1 .htm.
s Cruisers named for states were nuclear-powered cruisers.
6 Ibid.
7 Ohio (SSBN-726) class ballistic missile submarines, for example, were named for states, but one (SSBN-730) was
named for Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington, who died in office in 1983. Los Angeles (SSN-688) class
attack submarines were named for cities, but one (SSN-709) was named for Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the longtime
director of the Navy's nuclear propulsion program. Ticonderoga (CG-47) class cruisers were named for battles, but one
(CG-51) was named for Thomas S. Gates, a former Secretary of the Navy and Secretary of Defense.
8 See, for example, Donald R. Bouchoux, "The Name Game," US. Naval Institute Proceedings, March 2000: 110-111;
Norman Polmar, "Misnaming Aircraft Carriers," US. Naval Institute Proceedings, September 2006: 30-31; and
Norman Polmar, "Misnaming Navy Ships (Again)," US. Naval Institute Proceedings, February 2009: 89.Congressional Research Service
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Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress, report, October 7, 2011; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc807486/m1/5/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.