This is an incomplete list of people that have or had ships or ship classes named after them, or the name is associated with the person. The ships are currently or were previously in service with the Royal Navy, the United Kingdom's naval warfare force; or with predecessor fleets formally in the service of the Kingdom of England; or of the English Commonwealth. The list also includes fictional vessels which have prominently featured in literature about the Royal Navy.
Ship classes
Some people have had Royal ship classes named after them, the following are a list of people who had such classes named after them.
Royalty and nobility
Monarchs
Queen Elizabeth I
The following ship class was named after HMS Queen Elizabeth the first aircraft carrier commissioned in the class which was named after the dreadnought battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth in service from 1914 to 1948 which itself was named after the Tudor monarch Queen Elizabeth I.
| Class | Preceded by | Type | Planned | Completed | Active | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Displacement | Homeport | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth class | Invincible class | Aircraft carrier | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2017–present | n/a | 65,000 | Portsmouth | [1][2][3] |
Ships
Royalty and nobility
The following are British monarchs who have had Royal navy ships named after them.
Monarchs
Queen Elizabeth II
There are no ships named after Queen Elizabeth II.
King Charles III
The following are ships named after King Charles III the former Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Edinburgh.
| Ship | Class | Pennant No. | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Prince of Wales | Queen Elizabeth class | R09 | 2019 | n/a | 65,000 tonnes | Aircraft carrier | Portsmouth | [3] |
Dukes
Dukes of Northumberland and the Percy Family
The following are ships named after Dukes of Northumberland as well as the Percy Family, also known of the House of Percy.
Duke of Northumberland
The following are named after the title of Duke of Northumberland rather than any holder of that title.
| Ship | Class | Pennant No. | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Northumberland | Type 23 (Duke class) | F238 | 1994 | n/a | 4,900 tonnes | Guided missile frigate | Devonport | [4] |
Sir Henry Percy (Hotspur)
The following are ships named Hotspur the nicknamed for the 14th century noblemen Sir Henry Percy.
| Ship | Class | Pennant No. | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Hotspur | Fifth-rate | n/a | 1810 | 1821 | n/a | Frigate | n/a | [5][6][7] |
| HMS Hotspur | Fifth-rate | n/a | 1828 | 1902 | n/a | Frigate | n/a | [8][9] |
| HMS Hotspur | unknown | n/a | 1828 | 1902 | unknown | Ironclad Ram | n/a | [citation needed] |
Other Dukes
The following are Dukes with ships named after them.
| Named After | Ship | Class | Pennant No. | Commissioned | Homeport | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington | HMS Iron Duke | Type 23 (Duke class) | F234 | 1993 | 4,900 tonnes | Portsmouth | [10] |
| John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough | HMS Monmouth | Type 23 (Duke class) | F235 | 1993 | 4,900 tonnes | Devonport | [11] |
| James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth | Type 23 (Duke class) | F235 | 1993 | 4,900 tonnes | Devonport | [12][13][14] |
Dukedom Title
The following are named after various Dukedom titles rather than any holder of those titles.
Military Officials
| Named After | Ship | Class | Pennant No. | Commissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan | HMS Duncan | Type 45 (Daring class) | D37 | 2013 | 8,500 tonnes | Guided missile destroyer | Portsmouth | [25] |
Mythological/Semi-Mythological
| Named After | Class | Ship | Pennant No. | Commissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaius Mucius Scaevola | Type 45 (Daring class) | HMS Daring | D32 | 2009 | 8,500 tonnes | Guided missile destroyer | Portsmouth | [26][27] |
Explorers
| Named After | Class | Ship | Pennant No. | Commissioned | Displacement | Type | Homeport | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Falcon Scott | Echo class | HMS Scott | H131 | 1997 | 13,500 tonnes | Ocean survey | Devonport | [28] |
Fictional RN ship names
Deities
The following fictional ships are named after deities.
| Name | Ship | From | Created By | Medium | Published | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pluto | HMS Pluto | A Ship of the Line | C. S. Forester | Novel | 1938 | ||
| Venus | Venus | Good Ship Venus | Song |
Other
| Name | Ship | From | Created By | Medium | Published | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotspur | HMS Hotspur | Hornblower and the Hotspur | C. S. Forester | Novel | 1962 | Sloop | [29] |
| Caligula | Caligula | A Ship of the Line | C. S. Forester | Novel | 1938 |