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Ship Name Generator & Guide

Captain Turuga heard the cry from the crow’s nest above: “Ship spotted, starboard!”. She turned to see the three black sails appearing over the horizon – it was the dreaded Discourteous Sun. No matter, she thought, they may have superior cannons, but nothing can catch Cattistock with the wind at its back. “Man the rigging, all hands on deck!”

Generate Names

Puma

Alcetis

Stingray’s Tail

Vidette

The Mangy Dog

Vendetta

Opochtli

Spirit of Determination

Oreste

Elusive Butcher

The Mons

Keppel

Forge Your Own Name: Discover Our Name Suggestions & Backstories

Table of Contents

Seafaring stories and adventures hold a special place in many gamers’ hearts. There is something so alluring about the open seas and the exciting tales that can be forged therein. Key to a good sea adventure is a well established ship with its own name and backstory. Take a look at some of our suggestions below:

Good Ship Names

A good ship name should reflect its purpose as a vessel on the sea, but should also carry with it something suggestive of the particular character, history, or capability of the ship itself.

  • Spearfish
  • Undaunted
  • Little Belt
  • Pelargonium
  • Exchange
  • Cherokee
  • Boreas
  • Aquilon
  • Vidette

Keppel

Keppel is a small, smuggling ship built primarily for speed on the ocean in order to get away from the meddling guard vessels that patrol entrances to seaports. It also comes complete with a number of secret compartments to ensure the cargo arrives undiscovered.

  • Frontenac
  • Conquest
  • Leaminton
  • The Sylph
  • Oreste
  • Castlemaine
  • Canning
  • Fareham
  • The Mons

Yukon

The Yukon was a ship built in secret by a group of adventuring dark elves, who named it after the moon on their home realm. It is said that the enchantment present in the name magically speeds the ship on whenever it is sailed at night.

Pirate Ship Names

Pirate ship names should be bold and brash in order to represent the nefarious nature of the crews that run them. They should be either threatening to inspire terror, or an ironic gesture to the nature of the life of a pirate.

  • The Black Coward
  • Damnation
  • The Pillaging Dragon
  • Sadness of the Servant
  • Cursed Return
  • Uncultured Squid
  • Deceitful Manner
  • Howling Revenge
  • Discourteous Sun

Poseidon’s Executioner

Who would be so brazen as to name their ship the destroyer of the god of the sea? Only the dread pirate captain Bronzebeard, whose ambitions included ruling the entire ocean.

  • White Murderers
  • Cry of the King
  • Grand Slave
  • The Most Shark
  • Madness on the Rift
  • Fall of the Killer
  • Dirty Horror
  • Night’s Trinity
  • Rude Hangman

Fortune’s Delight

The Fortune’s Delight was named by the avaricious pirate crew known as the Red Hand Corsairs. The fortune in question was of course any cargo being carried by the ships they preyed on in the open seas.

Viking Ship Names

Viking ship names are usually punchy and to the point. They are also frequently named after a particular figure of viking mythology that the ship is said to embody in its deeds.

  • Maenad
  • Armeria
  • Kalgalooie
  • Lochy
  • The Tribune
  • Aeneas
  • Niobe
  • Bullrush
  • Adamant

Spitfire

Spitfire was a warring vessel of the viking conqueror Oesnir. He forwent the use of cannons in favor of terrifying flame-slinging contraptions that could burn a rival ship to pieces in mere minutes from close range.

  • Spikenard
  • Wyvern
  • Waveney
  • Cattistock
  • Blackwall
  • Puma
  • Hardinge
  • Audacious
  • Formidable

Stygian

Stygian is the name of one of the rivers of the underworld. A fitting moniker for a ship that could supposedly survive whirlpools and rapids that would wreck lesser vessels in minutes. Of course, the ship still needed a crew brave enough to take it through those waters in the first place…

Famous Ship Names

Famous ship names can take a variety of forms, as varied as all the reasons a ship may become famous in the first place. Below are a sample of our favorites:

  • Germahn’s Prize
  • Pollinton
  • Glamorgan
  • Norham Shore
  • The Kraken
  • Gorgon
  • The Sea Snake
  • Kingfisher
  • The Stranger

The Matriarch

The Matriarch is the name given to a ship sailed exclusively by a sisterhood of elves, who sang to the ship’s figurehead until she came alive. Now she is worshiped as a deity of sorts, and only allows women on board.

  • Psamathe
  • Stingray’s Tail
  • Impulse
  • The Blue Brilliance
  • Water Nyph

That concludes our list of ship names, we hoped you found some to your liking! There are certainly many exciting options here that all have a story to tell. Be sure to comment your favorite below, and share with a friend so that you may compare the ones that stuck out to you!

Picture of Cassidy Ferrari
Cassidy Ferrari
D&D is a creative practice for me, in which I can explore everything from the surreal to the divine. I like to use names as a storytelling device, so every interaction helps players to build a stronger mental image of the world. I hope that my articles for Codex Nomina help you have more fun with fantasy names!

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