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List of U.S. military vessels named after living Americans

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Former president George H. W. Bush views a model of USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), the aircraft carrier named after him.

The naming of United States Navy vessels after living people was common in the earliest years of American history, but as the 20th century began, the Navy had firmly established a practice of naming ships for people only after they had died.[1] In 1969, a Navy panel formally decreed that warships would no longer be named after living persons.[1]

That lasted until 1974, when President Richard Nixon announced the naming of an aircraft carrier after United States Representative Carl Vinson.[1] Over the next half-century, the Navy named more ships for living people than it had in the previous two centuries. From October 2020 to March 2023, the Navy named a ship for a living person every eight months, a pace unseen since 1776.

U.S. Navy ships are named by the Secretary of the Navy under U.S. law, explicitly until 1925 and implicitly since.[2]

No ships were named for living former Navy secretaries until 2001; since then, every Navy secretary save one has named a warship for a living predecessor, accounting for more than one-quarter of the ships they named for living people.[3]

No one has named more U.S. ships for living people than Ray Mabus, who did so eight times during his service as secretary from 2009 to 2017. "I think it's...important, when we can, to honor people who are still with us and thank them for what they did," Mabus said in 2016.[4]

The U.S. Navy generally announces the name of a ship some time before it is launched, and well before it is accepted for purchase and commissioned into active service.

List of ships

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The following ships received their names while their namesakes were alive. The list includes several ships whose namesakes died before the ships were commissioned.

1770s

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George Washington

1790s

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  • Two ships were named for John Adams while he was serving as America's second president:

1800s

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James Madison

1810s

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1820s

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1830s

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1850s

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1900s

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1970s

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1980s

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1990s

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Jimmy Carter and a model of the SSN-23

2000s

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2010s

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2020s

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See also

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Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Olson, Wyatt (19 June 2015). "From Hope to Giffords: The Navy's long history of unconventional ship names". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  2. ^ O'Rourke, Ronald (October 16, 2023). "Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress". Congressional Research Service. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  3. ^ Danzig named one ship for a living person: his predecessor Nitze; England named none for his living predecessors; Winter named one for Warner; Mabus, Ignatius; Spencer, Middendorf; Del Toro, Dalton.
  4. ^ a b Seck, Hope Hodge (2017-10-31). "Denied White House Ceremony, Marine Hero Honored with Ship Naming". Military.com. Archived from the original on 2023-03-02. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q O'Rourke, Ron (March 8, 2023). "Navy Ship Names: Background for Congress". Congressional Research Service. Archived from the original on January 22, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  6. ^ "PCU John Warner (SSN 785)". Commander, Naval Submarine Forces. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
  7. ^ Freking, Kevin (10 February 2012). "Navy names ship for former congresswoman Giffords". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  8. ^ "SECNAV Names Attack Boat After WWII USS Barb, DDG for Former SECNAV Lehman". USNI News. 2020-10-13. Archived from the original on 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  9. ^ "SECNAV Names Future Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer after MoH recipient Captain Thomas G. Ke". United States Navy. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  10. ^ "Virginia Attack Boat SSN-808 to be Named for Former Navy Secretary John Dalton". USNI News. 2023-03-01. Archived from the original on 2023-03-01. Retrieved 2023-03-02.