Many people are unclear about the naming conventions of ships and who decides on such names.
Who Names the Ships?
The names of U.S. Navy vessels often carry various meanings. They can be named after historical figures, famous battles, leaders, and cities in the United States.
The Secretary of the Navy not only has the authority to name new ships but can also rename existing vessels when their old names are no longer appropriate. These names are typically based on renaming options presented by an independent committee.
Recently, the U.S. Navy has planned to rename two ships that honor the Confederacy in history: the USS Chancellorsville cruiser and the USNS Maury survey ship.
Chancellorsville is named to commemorate a Civil War battle that took place in April and May of 1863, described as the greatest victory of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Meanwhile, Maury is named after Matthew Fontaine Maury, a former U.S. Navy officer and oceanographer, who joined the Confederacy and attempted to persuade powerful European nations to support the Confederacy during the Civil War. The USNS Maury is the sixth naval vessel to bear the name Maury.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro appreciates the work that the committee has done so far in identifying ships and other military assets named to honor the Confederacy, but “he has not finalized any new names for those ships,” said Captain Jereal Dorsey, a spokesperson for the secretary.
According to the Navy’s ship naming process, whenever a contract for a new ship is initiated, the Secretary of the Navy’s spokesperson will inform the Naval History and Heritage Command, which begins the process of making name proposals.
These recommendations are forwarded to the command team, including the Director of Naval Operations, and ultimately presented to the Secretary of the Navy.
The Advisory Board of the Naval Research Office also ensures that no recommendations violate trademarks or pose any other legal challenges for the Navy.
Additionally, the Secretary of the Navy can personally propose names for ships and then request the Naval History and Heritage Command to review whether those potential names correspond to any historical milestones, a Navy official told Task & Purpose.
USS Chancellorsville cruiser and USNS Maury survey ship.
Why Are Ships Often Renamed?
The Navy has changed the names of ships for various reasons. The destroyer USS Biddle was commissioned in May 1962 but was renamed in July 1964 to honor Admiral Claude V. Ricketts, who passed away earlier that month.
Naming conventions also often reflect contemporary indicators. From 1959 to 1967, the Navy commissioned 41 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines collectively referred to as “41 Freedom Submarines.”
These vessels were named after a group of eclectic historical figures, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Simón Bolívar, as well as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
More than 50 years later, in 2020, then-Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite chose the name “Constellation” for the Navy’s latest class of frigates to reconnect with the proud culture and traditions of this armed branch following a series of scandals involving former SEAL Eddie Gallagher, the COVID-19 outbreak aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and two deadly ship collisions, according to USNI News.
“When you tie that together and allow sailors to serve on a ship with such a glorious name, people will feel proud and feel that they are part of something special and feel something greater within themselves,” Braithwaite told USNI News.
If Secretary of the Navy Del Toro decides to rename the Chancellorsville and Maury, he may seek inspiration from military history—or possibly propose names aimed at a brighter future.
