Having just seen Prometheus, it’s become clear to me that a lot of people just have no sense at all when it comes to naming their starships. Isn’t naming a space ship “Prometheus” just asking for something bad to happen? Like saying “This ship is unsinkable.” With that in mind, here’s a list of names I would never use on a space ship:
- Prometheus
- Icarus (from Event Horizon)
- Hubris
- Oedipus
- Nemesis
- Eumenides (or Furies, Fates, etc.)
- Ragnarok
- Poetic Justice
- Death Star (cool name, but way too much baggage)
- Nothing Could Possibly Go Wrong
- Shyamalan
On the other hand, “Oh No, Oh No, We’re All Going to Die” would probably be fine.
The guy who has the best handle on naming ships in the business? (The SF business, I mean.)
Iain M. Banks. I mean, look at these names:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spacecraft_in_the_Culture_series#Novels
“Screw Loose”? “Prosthetic Conscience”? “So Much For Subtlety”? Perfect. And they express the personalities of the ship AIs and everything. 🙂