250+ Famous Boat Names: From Historical Vessels to Celebrity Yachts

Ahoy, fellow seafarers and landlubbers alike! Ever wondered what’s in a boat name? Well, shiver me timbers, it’s everything! From the mightiest galleons of yore to the sleekest yachts of today, a boat’s name is its identity, its soul, and sometimes even its destiny. So, batten down the hatches and prepare to embark on a voyage through the most famous, infamous, and downright hilarious boat names in maritime history.

Whether you’re christening your first dinghy or rechristening your tenth superyacht, this treasure trove of nautical nomenclature is sure to inspire. We’ve scoured the seven seas, plundered the archives of naval lore, and even consulted a few crusty old sea dogs to bring you the crème de la crème of boat names. So, grab your captain’s hat, pour yourself a tot of rum (or a mug of cocoa, we don’t judge), and let’s dive into the wonderful world of famous boat names!

Historical Heavyweights: Boats That Made Waves

Historical Boat Names

These vessels didn’t just sail the high seas; they sailed right into the history books. Here are some of the most renowned names in maritime history:

  1. Santa María
  2. Mayflower
  3. HMS Beagle
  4. USS Constitution
  5. Titanic
  6. Queen Mary
  7. Bismarck
  8. HMS Victory
  9. Nautilus
  10. Nina
  11. Pinta
  12. HMS Bounty
  13. Endeavour
  14. Golden Hind
  15. USS Enterprise
  16. Cutty Sark
  17. Kon-Tiki
  18. HMS Dreadnought
  19. Calypso
  20. Endurance
  21. USS Monitor
  22. Mary Rose
  23. HMS Hood
  24. Lusitania
  25. Carpathia
  26. Pequod
  27. Flying Dutchman
  28. Argo
  29. HMS Erebus
  30. HMS Terror
  31. Bluenose
  32. USS Arizona
  33. HMS Beagle
  34. Fram
  35. Vasa
  36. Niña
  37. Pinta
  38. HMS Challenger
  39. USS Nautilus
  40. RMS Queen Elizabeth
  41. SS Great Britain
  42. HMS Warrior
  43. USS Missouri
  44. HMS Royal Oak
  45. SS Normandie
  46. RMS Mauretania
  47. HMS Ark Royal
  48. USS Yorktown
  49. HMS Prince of Wales
  50. SS United States

Silver Screen Sailors: Famous Boats from Movies and TV

Famous Boats from Movies and TV

Lights, camera, action! These boats may have never left the harbor, but they’ve sailed into our hearts through the magic of cinema and television:

  1. The Black Pearl (Pirates of the Caribbean)
  2. Orca (Jaws)
  3. S.S. Minnow (Gilligan’s Island)
  4. The Belafonte (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou)
  5. The African Queen
  6. The Poseidon (The Poseidon Adventure)
  7. Jenny (Forrest Gump)
  8. The Nautilus (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)
  9. Andrea Gail (The Perfect Storm)
  10. HMS Surprise (Master and Commander)
  11. The Boat (Das Boot)
  12. SS Venture (King Kong)
  13. The Ghost (Ant-Man and the Wasp)
  14. The Hispaniola (Treasure Island)
  15. The Seabird (Captain Ron)
  16. The Erebus (The Terror)
  17. The Belafonte (The Royal Tenenbaums)
  18. The Orca II (Jaws: The Revenge)
  19. The Amity (Open Water)
  20. The Fortuna (The Deep)
  21. The Sea Duck (TaleSpin)
  22. The Inferno (Dante’s Peak)
  23. The Alexandria (Sahara)
  24. The Saratoga (Space: Above and Beyond)
  25. The Nimitz (The Final Countdown)
  26. The Dry Land (Waterworld)
  27. The Belafonte (Moonrise Kingdom)
  28. The Argo (Jason and the Argonauts)
  29. The Henrietta (Around the World in 80 Days)
  30. The Porpoise (Flipper)
  31. The Spinning Jenny (Hook)
  32. The Covenant (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest)
  33. The Exxon Valdez (Waterworld)
  34. The Belafonte (The Grand Budapest Hotel)
  35. The Pequod (In the Heart of the Sea)
  36. The Orca III (Jaws 3-D)
  37. The Andrea Doria (Ghostbusters II)
  38. The Belafonte (The Darjeeling Limited)
  39. The Venture (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie)
  40. The Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix)
  41. The Interceptor (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)
  42. The Belafonte (The French Dispatch)
  43. The Orca IV (Jaws: The Revenge)
  44. The Mariner (Waterworld)
  45. The Black Freighter (Watchmen)
  46. The Belafonte (Isle of Dogs)
  47. The Venture II (The Adventures of Tintin)
  48. The Flying Dutchman (SpongeBob SquarePants)
  49. The Belafonte (Fantastic Mr. Fox)
  50. The Krusty Krab (The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run)

Literary Legends: Boats from the Pages of Great Books

Ahoy, bookworms! These vessels may have been born from ink and paper, but they’ve sailed through our imaginations and into literary immortality:

  1. The Pequod (Moby-Dick)
  2. The Dawn Treader (The Chronicles of Narnia)
  3. Hispaniola (Treasure Island)
  4. The Nellie (Heart of Darkness)
  5. Nautilus (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea)
  6. HMS Surprise (Master and Commander series)
  7. The Covenant (Kidnapped)
  8. The Patna (Lord Jim)
  9. The Judy (Swallows and Amazons)
  10. The Obra Dinn (Return of the Obra Dinn)
  11. The Demeter (Dracula)
  12. The Sweet Judy (Life of Pi)
  13. The Erebus (The Terror)
  14. The Narcissus (The Nigger of the ‘Narcissus’)
  15. The Nellie (Youth)
  16. The Pharaon (The Count of Monte Cristo)
  17. The Rachel (Moby-Dick)
  18. The Swallow (Swallows and Amazons)
  19. The Amazon (Swallows and Amazons)
  20. The Peggy (Swallows and Amazons)
  21. The Goblin (Swallows and Amazons)
  22. The Sea Witch (Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
  23. The Aronnax (Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea)
  24. The Orion (The Sea Wolf)
  25. The Ghost (The Sea Wolf)
  26. The Patna (Lord Jim)
  27. The Nellie (Typhoon)
  28. The Nan-Shan (Typhoon)
  29. The Judea (Youth)
  30. The Narcissus (The Nigger of the ‘Narcissus’)
  31. The Nellie (Heart of Darkness)
  32. The Ferndale (Chance)
  33. The Stein (Lord Jim)
  34. The Sofala (The End of the Tether)
  35. The Jeddah (Lord Jim)
  36. The Tremolino (The Arrow of Gold)
  37. The Otago (The Shadow Line)
  38. The Tuscaloosa (Nostromo)
  39. The Sissie (The Rescue)
  40. The Nan-Shan (Typhoon)
  41. The Patna (Lord Jim)
  42. The Nellie (Youth)
  43. The Judea (Youth)
  44. The Narcissus (The Nigger of the ‘Narcissus’)
  45. The Ferndale (Chance)
  46. The Stein (Lord Jim)
  47. The Sofala (The End of the Tether)
  48. The Jeddah (Lord Jim)
  49. The Tremolino (The Arrow of Gold)
  50. The Otago (The Shadow Line)

Real-Life Royalty: Famous Yachts of the Rich and Famous

Boat Names of the Rich and Famous

Money may not buy happiness, but it can certainly buy a pretty sweet boat. Here are some of the most famous yachts owned by celebrities, royalty, and the uber-wealthy:

  1. Christina O (Aristotle Onassis)
  2. Rising Sun (David Geffen)
  3. Eclipse (Roman Abramovich)
  4. Octopus (Paul Allen)
  5. A (Andrey Melnichenko)
  6. Azzam (Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan)
  7. Dilbar (Alisher Usmanov)
  8. Al Said (Sultan Qaboos of Oman)
  9. Topaz (Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan)
  10. Dubai (Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum)
  11. Pelorus (David Geffen)
  12. Lady Moura (Nasser Al-Rashid)
  13. Al Mirqab (Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani)
  14. Savarona (Turkish government)
  15. Maltese Falcon (Elena Ambrosiadou)
  16. Seven Seas (Steven Spielberg)
  17. Venus (Steve Jobs’ family)
  18. Tatoosh (Paul Allen)
  19. Lionheart (Philip Green)
  20. Radiant (Abdulla Al Futtaim)
  21. Serene (Mohammed bin Salman)
  22. Sailing Yacht A (Andrey Melnichenko)
  23. Eos (Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg)
  24. Musashi (Larry Ellison)
  25. Quantum Blue (Sergey Galitsky)
  26. Aquarius (Steve Wynn)
  27. Amadea (Suleiman Kerimov)
  28. Tango (Viktor Vekselberg)
  29. Valerie (Yuri Scheffler)
  30. Alfa Nero (Andrey Guryev)
  31. Madame Gu (Andrey Skoch)
  32. Nord (Alexei Mordashov)
  33. Crescent (Igor Sechin)
  34. Scheherazade (Vladimir Putin)
  35. Solaris (Roman Abramovich)
  36. Luminosity (Benetti)
  37. Moonrise (Feadship)
  38. Flying Fox (Jeff Bezos)
  39. Kismet (Shahid Khan)
  40. Bravo Eugenia (Jerry Jones)
  41. Tis (Alexei Fedorychev)
  42. Madsummer (Jeffrey Soffer)
  43. Kaos (Nancy Walton Laurie)
  44. Lana (Lürssen)
  45. Oceanco Y721 (Jeff Bezos)
  46. Ahpo (Feadship)
  47. Viva (Feadship)
  48. Infinity (Oceanco)
  49. Galactica Super Nova (Heesen)
  50. Here Comes The Sun (Amels)

Nautical Puns and Wordplay: Clever Boat Names That’ll Make You Groan

Clever Boat Names That'll Make You Groan

Prepare to roll your eyes and chuckle simultaneously. These boat names prove that seafarers have a special kind of humor:

  1. Seas the Day
  2. Aquaholic
  3. Knot Working
  4. Nauti Buoy
  5. Ship Happens
  6. Unsinkable II
  7. Pier Pressure
  8. Cirrhosis of the River
  9. Usain Boat
  10. Feelin’ Nauti
  11. Sail La Vie
  12. Moor Often Than Knot
  13. Dock Holiday
  14. Knot on Call
  15. Buoy Meets Gull
  16. Fishful Thinking
  17. Reel Nauti
  18. Aboat Time
  19. Yacht-zee
  20. The Codfather
  21. Fin & Tonic
  22. Dock of the Bay
  23. Knotty Buoy
  24. Wasted Seamen
  25. Sail Mail
  26. Boaty McBoatface
  27. Knot for Sale
  28. Vitamin Sea
  29. Tide the Knot
  30. Anchors Away
  31. Seaduction
  32. Knot So Fast
  33. Bullship
  34. Breakin’ Wind
  35. Ketch Me If You Can
  36. Bow Movement
  37. Moor the Merrier
  38. Sloop Dog
  39. Sail of the Century
  40. Dock Ness Monster
  41. Buoy Toy
  42. Wet Dream
  43. Nauti by Nature
  44. Seaworthy
  45. Knot Guilty
  46. Dock-a-dile Dundee
  47. Sloop There It Is
  48. Moor or Less
  49. Yacht’s All, Folks!
  50. Dock and Roll

There you have it, mateys! A veritable treasure chest of famous boat names to inspire, amuse, and perhaps even make you groan a little. Whether you’re looking to christen your own vessel or just appreciate the art of nautical nomenclature, we hope this list has given you plenty to ponder.

Remember, a boat’s name is more than just a label – it’s a statement, a conversation starter, and sometimes even a prophecy. So choose wisely, sail safely, and may your adventures be as legendary as the names we’ve explored today. Fair winds and following seas to you all!

Was this page helpful?