History Main / LegacyVesselNaming

** As a rule, most of the world's navies have no hesitation to give a ship a name of a previous vessel lost in action or at sea, provided the loss occurred "honourably". Thus for instance the Royal Navy continued to use the name ''[[TemptingFate Invincible]]'', despite the predecessor that fell victim to a German battlecruiser that it actually outgunned at Jutland in 1916. And the larger ships (i.e. light cruisers and above) of the ''Reichsmarine'' of the Weimar Republic and its Nazi successor, the ''Kriegsmarine'' generally received the names of ships of the Imperial German Navy that had been sunk by superior forces during WorldWarOne or they got names that had not been used before. Conversely, ships that were lost "dishonorably" would taint their name. Thus the Royal Navy did not have another ''Bounty'' and when the ''[[BattleshipPotemkin Knyaz Potyomkin-Tavrichesky]] was handed back to the Russian Navy, it quickly was renamed ''Panteleymon''.

* ''OnePiece'': The Straw Hat Pirates' original ship Going Merry is finally destroyed at the end of Enies Lobby arc, and Franky built the Thousand Sunny as replacement. Then, in the beginning of Thriller Bark arc, Franky reveals a surprise for the crew from the Sunny: the Mini Merry II, essentially Merry revived as a small motorboat.

* In ''TopCat and the Beverly Hills Cats'', Benny was given by [[TheButlerDidIt the butler]] a tube named "Titanic II".

** At the end of ''Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'' the Enterprise is destroyed. At the end of ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' the crew is assigned to a newly built Enterprise.
** The opening of ''Film/StarTrekGenerations'' takes place aboard the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise-B, and has Kirk, Scotty and Chekov of the two previous Enterprises as honorary guests. At the end, the Enterprise-D is mostly destroyed (the saucer section lands on a planet and can't be recovered). At the beginning of the next movie, ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', the crew is aboard the new Enterprise-E. This is even lampshaded:
--->'''Beverly Crusher:''' So much for the Enterprise E.\\

* ''Rescue from GilligansIsland'', the first Reunion Movie. After the crew rescues themselves, everyone tries to return to their old lives. The Skipper uses his insurance money to buy a new boat, naming it ''Minnow II'', and restarts his charter buisness. They have a reunion cruise. [[StatusQuoIsGod Guess what happens]].

* Enforced in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' universe by the Royal Manticoran Navy's Roll of Honor. Ships that are destroyed in a valiant action have their names placed on the of Honor. Traditionally, there is always a serving ship bearing every name on the list, and when one is removed from service its name is given to a new ship under construction, with all battle honors passing to it.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': During the push to Cardassia, after the destruction of the USS Defiant, the USS ''Sao Paulo'' is delivered to [=DS9=] as a replacement. Along with the vessel came a special dispensation from the Chief of Starfleet Operations to change the vessel's name to USS Defiant.
** The first Defiant-Class USS ''Defiant'' is itself an example of this, since it was named after the Constitution-Class USS ''Defiant'' from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.

** Interestingly, ''only'' the ''Enterprise'' is directly witnessed to get this. The Enterprise-E is numbered NCC-1701-E and, like all the others, is obviously a bigger, cooler version of its predecessor, but ships that share similar designs with past ships get all-new names, and ships that share names with past ships get all-new numbers. [=DS9=]'s ''Defiant'' looks and is numbered nothing like TOS's, for example, and the name is most likely only coincidentally the same. Meanwhile, the second [=DS9=] ''Defiant'' gets the same number as the first instead of becoming the ''Defiant''-A (likely so StockFootage can continue to be used.)
* In the ''Series/GilligansIsland'' ReunionShow ''Rescue from Gilligan's Island'' the Skipper gets insurance money from the crash of the first ''SS Minnow'' and buys a new boat, naming it ''Minnow II''. Then he invites all the other castaways for a reunion cruise. [[StatusQuoIsGod Guess what happens]].

** When the eighth US Navy Enterprise was retired, it was announced that a ninth one would be built.
** As a rule, most of the world's navies have no hesitation to give a ship a name of a previous vessel lost in action or at sea, provided the loss occurred "honourably". Thus for instance the Royal Navy continued to use the name ''[[TemptingFate Invincible]]'', despite the predecessor that fell victim to a German battlecruiser that it actually outgunned at Jutland in 1916. And the larger ships (i. e. light cruisers and above) of the ''Reichsmarine'' of the Weimar Republic and its Nazi successor, the ''Kriegsmarine'' generally received the names of ships of the Imperial German Navy that had been sunk by superior forces during WorldWarOne or they got names that had not been used before. Conversely, ships that were lost "dishonorably" would taint their name. Thus the Royal Navy did not have another ''Bounty'' and when the ''[[BattleshipPotemkin Knyaz Potyomkin-Tavrichesky]] was handed back to the Russian Navy, it quickly was renamed ''Panteleymon''.
* Professional land speed record hoder Art Arfons named each of his vehicles the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Monster_(car) Green Monster.]]

* Chuck Yeager named all of his planes, including the Bell X-1 he broke the sound barrier in, Glamorous Glennis, after his wife.

** Interestingly, ''only'' the ''Enterprise'' is directly witnessed to get this. The Enterprise-E is numbered NCC-1701-E and, like all the others, is obviously a bigger, cooler version of its predecessor, but ships that share similar designs with past ships get all-new names, and ships that share names with past ships get all-new numbers. DS9's ''Defiant'' looks and is numbered nothing like TOS's, for example, and the name is most likely only coincidentally the same. Meanwhile, the second DS9 ''Defiant'' gets the same number as the first instead of becoming the ''Defiant''-A (likely so StockFootage can continue to be used.)

** As a rule, most of the world's navies have no hesitation to give a ship a name of a previous vessel lost in action or at sea, provided the loss occurred "honourably". Thus for instance the Royal Navy continued to use the name ''[[TemptingFate Invincible]]'', despite the predecessor that fell victim to a German battlecruiser that it actually outgunned at Jutland in 1916. And the larger ships (i. e. light cruisers and above) of the ''Reichsmarine'' of the Weimar Republic and its Nazi successor, the ''Kriegsmarine'' generally received the names of ships of the Imperial German Navy that had been sunk by superior forces during WorldWarOne or they got names that had not been used before.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine': During the push to Cardassia, after the destruction of the USS Defiant, the USS ''Sao Paulo'' is delivered to [=DS9=] as a replacement. Along with the vessel came a special dispensation from the Chief of Starfleet Operations to change the vessel's name to USS Defiant.

* ''Series/{{Babylon 5}}'' is the fifth and last of the Babylon space stations. The first four blew up or disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine': During the push to Cardassia, after the destruction of the USS Defiant, the USS Sao Paulo is delivered to [=DS9=] as a replacement. Along with the vessel came a special dispensation from the Chief of Starfleet Operations to change the vessel's name to USS Defiant.
** The first Defiant-Class USS Defiant is itself an example of this, since it was named after the Constitution-Class USS Defiant from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.

** Interestingly, ''only'' the Enterprise is directly witnessed to get this. The Enterprise-E is numbered NCC-1701-E and, like all the others, is obviously a bigger, cooler version of its predecessor, but ships that share similar designs with past ships get all-new names, and ships that share names with past ships get all-new numbers. DS9's ''Defiant'' looks and is numbered nothing like TOS's, for example, and the name is most likely only coincidentally the same. Meanwhile, the second DS9 Defiant gets the same number as the first instead of becoming the Defiant-A (likely so StockFootage can continue to be used.)

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine': During the push to Cardassia, after the destruction of the USS Defiant, the USS Sao Paolo is delivered to [=DS9=] as a replacement. Along with the vessel came a special dispensation from the Chief of Starfleet Operations to change the vessel's name to USS Defiant.

Sister trope of DeadGuyJunior.

** PlayedWith in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''; in the last book, the team sets off to save Ax in a ship which they name the ''[[spoiler:Rachel]],'' after their teammate who died in the final battle.

** PlayedWith in ''{{Animorphs}};'' in the last book, the team sets off to save Ax in a ship which they name the ''[[spoiler:Rachel]],'' after their teammate who died in the final battle.

[[folder:Comic books]]

[[folder:Other Media]]
* There were actually three starships named ''[=GameStar=]'' in ''RaumschiffGamestar'': the first was trapped in a StableTimeLoop in season one, the second, destroyed during season three finale, and the third, blown up in the "GrandFinale" of the series.

[[folder:Web comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/NoRestForTheWicked'', Prince Dirk's current horse is named Artax XIII.
[[/folder]]

* In ''FlushedAway'', Rita's beloved ship the ''Jammy Dodger'' sinks. The movie ends with the launching of the ''Jammy Dodger II''.

* ''TheBennyHillShow'': Benny as Fred Scuttle is being interviewed about a rocket ship he's built in his backyard.

** At the end of ''StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock'' the Enterprise is destroyed. At the end of ''StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'' the crew is assigned to a newly built Enterprise.
** The opening of ''StarTrekGenerations'' takes place aboard the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise-B, and has Kirk, Scotty and Chekov of the two previous Enterprises as honorary guests. At the end, the Enterprise-D is mostly destroyed (the saucer section lands on a planet and can't be recovered). At the beginning of the next movie, ''StarTrekFirstContact'', the crew is aboard the new Enterprise-E. This is even lampshaded:

* ''BabylonFive'' is the fifth and last of the Babylon space stations. The first four blew up or disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
* ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine': During the push to Cardassia, after the destruction of the USS Defiant, the USS Sao Paolo is delivered to [=DS9=] as a replacement. Along with the vessel came a special dispensation from the Chief of Starfleet Operations to change the vessel's name to USS Defiant.
** The first Defiant-Class USS Defiant is itself an example of this, since it was named after the Constitution-Class USS Defiant from ''StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.

In NauticalFolklore, naming a ship after a vessel chiefly remembered for having bad luck is considered taboo. Probably few shipbuilders would be consciously believing in superstition; they would be believing that few passengers would get on. Likewise few passengers would be consciously believing this. Still it would somehow "not be proper" to launch a second ''Titanic''. See DoNotTauntCthulhu.

* Enforced in the HonorHarrington universe by the Royal Manticoran Navy's Roll of Honor. Ships that are destroyed in a valiant action have their names placed on the of Honor. Traditionally, there is always a serving ship bearing every name on the list, and when one is removed from service its name is given to a new ship under construction, with all battle honors passing to it.

-->'''Beverly Crusher:''' So much for the Enterprise E.
-->'''Jean-Luc Picard:''' We barely knew her.
-->'''Crusher:''' Think they'll build another?
-->'''Picard:''' There are plenty of letters left in the alphabet.

-->Scuttle: We're going to the moon in that! ''Indestructible'' the Second!!
-->Interviewer: What happened to ''Indestructible'' the First?
-->Scuttle: It fell apart, sir.

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