Spaceship Names - the Federation, the Empire and the Culture

In the wonderful world of space opera, an enduring question grips many an author.

What exactly do you name things in your universe?

We might go over characters, planets and civilizations another day, but for the moment lets focus on the coolest things of all to give names - spaceships!

'Eagle 5' - Spaceballs

Here we can divide our names into three broad categories - what you may could call the 'good', the 'bad' and the 'funny' or as I have called it above - the 'Federation', the 'Empire', and the 'Culture'.

The first two groups should be pretty self-explanatory. Spaceship naming conventions tend to follow the historical precedent of seagoing warship names. 'Good' names tend so sound righteous and courageous. We're talking names like 'Liberty', 'Freedom', 'Intrepid' and 'Constitution'. A lot of ships may also be named after people or places, like the WW1-era 'Queen Elizabeth' Battleships of the British navy or the current generation of 'Nimitz' class aircraft carriers in the US Navy.

The 'bad' or 'empire' category are names more intended to instill fear in an opponent. Here we have names like 'Conqueror', 'Dreadnought', 'Thunderer' and 'Revenge'.

In fiction, there are plenty of examples of different factions - depending of their benevolence, following either naming convention. Think of the 'Enterprise' from Star Trek, the 'Discovery' from 2001, or the titular 'Galactica' from Battlestar Galacica.

The opposing factions at the Battle of Endor are a telling example. The Rebel cruisers have names (most not named in the actual movie, but its all there in the manual) like 'Defiance', 'Independence' and 'Liberty' while the Imperial Star Destroyers have names including 'Executor', 'Devastator', 'Tyrant' and 'Dominator'. I recall another example from the Homeworld series of games. In a battle in Homeworld: Cataclysm between the Republican Taiidani and Imperial forces, the Republican Carrier is named 'Victory' and the head Imperial Cruiser ' Vengeance'.

These naming conventions are cool, but there's another category that has been gaining popularity lately. These are names not so much intended to inspire either courage or fear, but which are meant to rise above either, and if anything inspire humor. A lot of them are satirical in nature, drawing inspiration from famous quotes and common catchphrases. I've called it here 'Culture' names, after the titular civilization from Iain M. Bank's Culture novels.

To give a bit of background - Culture ships are generally incredibly advanced ships run by godlike-AIs, and against which their human crews are little more than passengers. They pretty much run the galaxy and maintain peace between its many different civilizations. Consequently, they have a tendency to name themselves pretty much whatever the hell they want. Wikipedia has what appears to be a complete list - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Culture_series

Some of my favourite names include -

Irregular Apocalypse
Screw Loose
Limiting Factor
Just Read The Instructions
Gunboat Diplomat
What Are The Civilian Applications?
Attitude Adjuster
God Told Me To Do It
Well I Was In The Neighborhood
All Through With This Niceness and Negotiation Stuff
All The Same, I Saw It First
Lapsed Pacifist
Frank Exchange Of Views
Reformed Nice Guy
Killing Time
Falling Outside The Normal Moral Constraints

There's also a number of running gags in the series. One ship was called the - 'But Who's Counting?' Several books later we're then introduced to another ship called the - 'Me, I'm Counting'. Another is that, because they so often have such crazy names, critics in the Culture universe have supposedly complained that Culture ships do not have sufficient 'gravitas' in their designations. This has spawned a whole series of tongue-in-cheek names including -

Dwindling Gravitas
Zero Gravitas
Very Little Gravitas Indeed
Gravitas, What Gravitas?
Gravitas Free Zone
Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall
Stood Far Back When the Gravitas Was Handed Out
Absolutely No You-Know-What

Looking back on these three categories, and if you are looking for cool names for the spaceships in your novel/other work of sci-fi, feel free to peruse the list below. I've been thinking up ship names for quite a while now. They're a combination of names I've seen elsewhere and some of my own invention (particularly in the last category). Naturally there may be some overlap between categories as the borders are not exactly well-defined. Note also that names naturally go in and out of fashion. I've noticed that names like 'Aurora' and 'Phoenix' have been overused to the point hat they're practically cliches these days, so pick wisely.

'Federation' Names:

Discovery
Enterprise
Endeavor
Fearless
Liberty
Glorious
Indomitable
Indefatigable
Voyager
Alacrity
Challenger
Protector
Serenity
Repulse
Sentinel
Dauntless
Resolution
Hercules
Defiant
Surprise
Oracle
Destiny
Orion
Phoenix
Victory
Hyperion
Eagle
Ark Royal
Formidable
Centurion
Majestic
Illustrious
Venerable
Daring
Swiftsure
Pegasus
Genesis
Vanguard
Audacious
Valiant
Aurora
Diadem
Loyal Servant
Argonaut

'Empire' Names:

Executor
Vengeance
Conqueror
Thunderer
Devastator
Irresistible
Excalibur
Goliath
Colossus
Behemoth
Heat Death
Event Horizon
Litany of Fury
Nuclear Winter
Hellbound
Moral Chimera
Charybdis
Leviathan
Avenger
Notorious
Vehement
Invincible
Warspite
Inferno
Lucifer
Punisher
Reaper
Hurricane
Eminence
Tempest
Iron Maiden
Basilisk
Minotaur
Iron Curtain
Eternal Terror
Grievous Ordeal
Terrible Resolve
Furious Purpose
Vampire
Cataclysm
Carnivore
Hydra
Immortal
Nemesis
Hunter
Relentless

'Culture' Names:

Refuge in Audacity
Sufficiently Advanced
Under No Illusions
Perpetual Motion
Divine Intervention
Collateral Damage
Process of Elimination
Always A Bigger Fish
Daybreaker
Big Stick
Extinction Event
Ignorance Is Bliss
Only Light Is Faster
Laws of Physics
Terminal Velocity
Tenth Circle
Nothing Lasts Forever
Don't Care Who Started It
Square Peg
Satan's Little Helper
In Case Of Emergency
Playing With Fire
No Fluctuations Here
Karmic Trickster
Known Unknowns
Undue Onus
What Goes Up
Butterfly Effect
Lateral Thinking
Potentially Problematic
Without Loss of Enthusiasm
Lamentable Catalogue
Merciful Disposition
No Third Law
Two Days From Retirement
That Can Be Arranged
No Reverse Gear
Cunning Plan
Playing With Fire
Baryonic Lord
Atom Smasher
Same As The Old Boss
Residual Fear Of Hell
Highest Bidder
Challenge Accepted
Finders Keepers
Arsenal Of Damocles
Orient Map To Cosmos
Newton In The Driver's Seat
Successful Failure
No Further Appeals
Active Correction
Handling the Truth Just Fine Thank You
Point Away From Face
Unforgiving Minute
Second Best Policy
Cosmological Constant
No Plans For Tomorrow
Delaying The Inevitable
No Such Thing As Ghosts
Devil's Advocate
Uncanny Valley
Peace Agnostic