List of warships by nickname

The following is a list of warships listed by nickname. See below for a key to abbreviations.

A

* "Abe" – USS ''Abraham Lincoln''' Abraham Lincoln is often informally referred to as "Abe" or "Stink'n Lincoln"
*"Ageless Warrior" – USS ''Coral Sea''
*"Aggie" – HMS ''Agamemnon''
*"Aggie on Horseback" – HMS ''Weston''; nickname named for Agnes Weston, a temperance and sailor's advocate; "on horseback" is a jocular mistranslation of Latin ''"super-mare"'' ("on the sea"), ''"mare"'' being equated with a female horse
*"'A Gin Court" – HMS ''Agincourt''; Battleship seized from Turkey in 1914; because of its luxurious Turkish outfit
*"Algonquatraz" – HMCS ''Algonquin'' (DDG 283)
*"'Am and Tripe" – HMS ''Amphitrite''; humorous malapropism
*"America's Favorite Carrier" – USS ''Carl Vinson''
*"Angry Cat" – French ship ''Henri IV''; named so by the British, a play on the pronunciation of "Henri Quatre"
*"Archdeacon" – HMS ''Venerable''; a play on the phrase "venerable archdeacon"
*"Athabee" – HMCS ''Athabaskan'' (DDG 282)

B

*"Babe Lincoln" – USS ''Abraham Lincoln''; reference to her 1995 deployment, the first United States warship to put to sea with women in combat roles
*"Battle Cat" – USS ''Kitty Hawk''
*"Battle Schmoozer", "Belcrash" – USS ''Belknap''; reference her collision with the USS ''Kennedy'' in 1975
*"Battle Barge" –
*"Battle Star" –
*"Big Ben" – USS ''Franklin''; the ship is named after Benjamin Franklin
*"Big D" – ; given to the boat to denote being named in honor of the city of Dallas.
*"The Big E" – (CV-6) and USS ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65)
*"The Big J" – USS ''New Jersey''
*"Big John" – USS ''John F. Kennedy''
*"Big Lizzie" –
*"Big Mamie" – USS ''Massachusetts''
*"The Big Nasty" –
*"The Big Stick" – USS ''Theodore Roosevelt''; based on Theodore Roosevelt's quotation, "Speak softly and carry a big stick". Also used for the during her third and final commissioning, c1980s Cold War. Iowa was nicknamed Mighty I during her first two commissionings in WWII and the Korean War.
*"Big Sugar" – USS ''Vermont''
*"Big Gray Deuce" – USS ''Essex''; humorous malapropism
*"Billy Ruffian" – HMS ''Bellerophon''; humorous mispronunciation
*"The Black Dragon" –
*"The Blue Ghost" – ; nickname supposedly bestowed by Japanese radio propagandist Tokyo Rose because of the color of her camouflage painting and because she repeatedly disproved reports that she had been sunk. Some crew used her predecessors nickname of "Lady Lex"
*"Bonnie" – HMCS ''Bonaventure''
*"Bonnie Dick" – USS ''Bon Homme Richard'' CV/CVA-31 and USS ''Bonhomme Richard'' (LHD-6)
*"Buckin' Bronco" – USS ''Colorado (BB-45)''
*"Building (hull number)" – a U.S. Navy joke about ships that don't go to sea much.
**"Building 575" – USS ''Seawolf'' (SSN-575)
**"Building 597" – USS ''Tullibee'' (SSN-597)
**"Building 21" – USS ''Seawolf'' (SSN-21)
**"Building 11" – USS ''Coronado'' (AGF-11)
**"Building 5" – USS Vulcan (AR-5)
*"Bulldog of the Navy" – USS ''Oregon'' (BB-3)
*"The Big Risk" – USS ''Oriskany'' (CV-34)
*"Bag Lady" – USS ''Bagley (FF-1069)''; humorous malaproprism
*"Berzerkly" – USS ''Berkeley (DDG-15)''; humorous malaproprism
*"Broke" – USS ''Brooke (FFG-1)''; humorous malaproprism
*"Brand X" – USS ''Mississippi (CGN-40)''; reference to being the "copy" Virginia-class cruiser homeported out of Norfolk, VA

C

*"C-ville" – USS ''Chancellorsville''
*"Cannabis" – USS ''Canopus''; humorous malapropism
*"Can o' Pus" – USS ''Canopus'' (1980s reference to first 20% female crew.)
*"Can Opener" – USS ''John F. Kennedy'', after collision with USS ''Belknap''
*"Century One" – HMS ''Centurion''; humorous malapropism
*"Charlie Love Five Five" – USS Cleveland (CL-55), nickname refers to the ship's hull symbol, CL-55.
*"Cheer Up Ship" – USS ''Nevada (BB-36)''
*"Chesapeake Raider" – USS ''Wyoming (BB-32)'', nickname given after frequent sightings of the ship in the Chesapeake Bay during World War Two.
*"Christmas Anthem" – HMS ''Chrysanthemum''; humorous malapropism
*"Chuck Bucket" – USS ''Carl Vinson''
*"Chuckie V" – USS ''Carl Vinson''
*"Cocoa Boat" – HMS ''Curacoa''; humorous malapropism
*"Connie" – USS ''Constellation''; diminutive of ship's name
*"The Count" – USS ''Comte de Grasse''; named for Comte de Grasse (French, "Count de Grasse"), an ally of the Americans in the American War of Independence
*"Curious" –

*"Cellblock 70" – USS ''Carl Vinson''; humorous reference to restricted liberty for crew after incidents in Bremerton, WA, in the mid-1980s.

D

*"Despair Ship Remorse" – HMS Resource (F79), HMS ''Resource''; humorous malapropism on "Repair ship ''Resource''"
*"Decrepit" –
*"Dirty Cush" –
*"Dirty Two-Thirty" – HMCS ''Margaree'' (DDE 230) (decommissioned); from her hull number.
*"Dirty V" – USS ''Carl Vinson''; humorous malapropism
*"Dreado" – HMS ''Dreadnought''; diminutive of ship's name
*"Dull Ass" – USS ''Dallas''; humorous malapropism
*"Dickover" –
*"Dickey B" – USS ''Richard B. Russell'' (SSN-687)
*"Dry I" –
*"Dippity Do" –

E

*"Eggshells" – HMS ''Achilles''; humorous malapropism
*"Enterprison" – USS ''Enterprise''; humorous malapropism
*"Evil I" –
*"Exploder" – ; experimental & temperamental submarine fitted with dangerous hydrogen peroxide propulsion system.

F

*"The Fightingest Ship in the RCN" – HMCS ''Haida''; gained this moniker by reason of sinking 14 enemy ships during patrols in the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay; she also sank more enemy surface tonnage than any other Canadian ship
*"The Fighting G" – HMS ''Gloucester''
*"The Fighting J" – HMS ''Jamaica''
*"The Fighting I" – USS ''Intrepid''
*"The Fighting Lady" – USS ''Yorktown''
*"The Fighting Sausage" – HMS ''Cumberland''; from Cumberland sausage
*"Fighting Mary" – USS ''Maryland (BB-46)''
*"Firestal" – USS ''Forrestal''
*"The Five Mile Sniper" – HMAS ''Brisbane''
*"Flatiron" – ; from the shape of the ship
*"Forrest Fire" "FID (First in Defense)" – USS ''Forrestal''; humorous malapropism, also because of the fire on deck.
*"Foo-De-Roo" – USS Franklin D. Roosevelt
*"Fraser Blade" – HMCS ''Fraser''
*"Freddy" – HMCS ''Fredericton''
*"Fleet Starship" – USS ''Enterprise''
*"The Furry Wet Mound" – USS ''Harry W. Hill'' (DD-986), humorous malapropism

G

*"Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast" – USS ''Houston''
* "George's Legs" or "Gorgeous Legs" – French light cruiser Georges Leygues
*"Germanclown" – USS ''Germantown'' (LSD-42)
*"Ghetto" –
*"Gipper" – USS ''Ronald Reagan''; named for Ronald Reagan's nickname, from his role of George "The Gipper" Gipp in the film Knute Rockne, All American.
*"Gin Palace" – HMS ''Agincourt''; originally built for Brazilian Navy and given higher standards of comfort for officers, and lesser standards of comfort for the crew than most RN ships. Also a deliberate misspelling of the name: ''A Gin Court''.
*"The Gold Eagle" – USS ''Carl Vinson''
*"The Golden Devil" ( Dutch ''"Den Gulden Duvel"'') – HMS ''Sovereign of the Seas''
*"The Golden Guad" –
*''"Le Grand Hotel"'' – French Ironclad ''Hoche''
*"The Grand Old Lady" – HMS ''Warspite''
*"The Galloping Ghost" – USS ''Enterprise'' (CV-6)
*"The Gray Ghost" – USS ''Enterprise'' (CV-6)
*"The Gray Lady" – USS ''Lexington''
*"The Gray Ghost" – USS ''Iowa'' (BB-61)
*"The Great White Ghost of the Arabian Coast/The Great White Whale" – USS ''La Salle (AGF-3)
*"Grey Ghost" – USS ''Pensacola''; nickname given by Tokyo Rose
*"Greenpig" –
*"GW" – USS ''George Washington''; initials of the ship's namesake

H

*"The Ham" –
*"Happy Valley" – USS ''Valley Forge''
*"Hairy D" – HMCS ''Harry DeWolf''
*"He-Cat" – HMS ''Hecate''; humorous malapropism
*"HMAS Can Opener" – ; given by US Navy sailors for the ship's part in the sinking of the US Navy destroyer . ''Melbourne'' previously sank another destroyer, , in a similar collision.
*"HMS Me" – ; from a cake presented to Elizabeth II during her first visit to the ship.
*"HMS Refit" – ;
*"HMS Repair" – HMS ''Repulse''
*"Hiroshima" – Soviet submarine ''K-19'', due to a nuclear accident onboard
*"Hockey Puck" – ; humorous malapropism
*"Holiday Express" – USS ''Bunker Hill''
*"Holiday Inn" – USS ''Bunker Hill''
*"Horny Maru" – USS ''Hornet''
*"HST" – USS ''Harry S. Truman''; initials of the ship's namesake Harry S. Truman
*"Hairy Ass" – USS ''Harry S. Truman''; humorous malapropism
*"Hymi G" –
*"Happy Harry" –
*"Hotel Yamato" – Japanese battleship ''Yamato''; due to the amount of time spent at Truk between August 1942 and May 1943

I

*"Ike" – USS ''Dwight D. Eisenhower''; based on nickname of namesake, Dwight D. Eisenhower
*"Ikeatraz" – USS ''Dwight D. Eisenhower''; derogatory nickname given to those that served on board and had gotten in trouble in some way.
*"Indy" – USS ''Independence''
*"Iron Duck" – HMS ''Iron Duke''
*"Fighting I" – USS ''Intrepid''
*"Ichiban Benjo Maru" – ; due to an outbreak of bacillary dysentery that required quarantine
*"Iron Woman"

J

*"Jimmy K" – USS ''James K. Polk''
*"Johnny Reb" – USS ''John C. Stennis''

K

*"Kaarnavene" – Finnish Navy Nuoli class fast gunboats. The name means literally "bark boat": they were made from non-magnetic mahogany.
*"Kami-ha-ha" – USS ''Kamehameha''; humorous malapropism
*"King of Tomahawks" – USS ''John Young''; probably after the ship's BGM-109 Tomahawk weapons system, or "The John Bone" humorous malapropisms
*"Shitty Kitty" – USS ''Kitty Hawk''; humorous malapropism
*"Knockwood" – USS ''Lockwood''

L

*"Lady Lex" – USS ''Lexington''
*"Lady Lou" – USS ''Louisville''
*"Long Delayed" – HMAS ''Adelaide''; rhyming play on ship's name. Fitting out and completion of the ship were delayed (almost 3 years) due to the loss of important machinery parts, as a result of enemy action, which gave rise to the nickname.
*"The Lord's Own" – HMS ''Vengeance''; derived from the phrase "The Lord's own vengeance", based on the sentiment of Romans
*"Lost and Confused" – USS ''Lewis and Clark''
*"Lucky A" – USS ''Alabama''
*"Lucky E" – USS ''Enterprise'' (CV-6)
*"Lucky 26" – HNoMS ''Stord''
*"Lusty" – HMS ''Illustrious''
*"Lucky Number 7" – USS ''Rainier'' – The hull number.

M

*"Maggie" – HMS ''Magnificent''; HMCS ''Magnificent''
*"The Mighty Hood" –
*"The Mighty I" – USS ''Iowa''. Iowa was nicknamed Mighty I during her first two commissionings in WWII and the Korean War. Her nickname was changed during the Cold War c1980s, her final commissioning, to The Big Stick.
*"Mighty O" – USS ''Oriskany''
*"Mighty T" – USS ''Texas (BB-35)''
*"Mighty Y" – USCGC ''Yakutat''
*"Mighty Mo" – USS ''Missouri''
*"Mighty Moo" – USS ''Cowpens''
*"Mobile Chernobyl" – USS ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65)
*"Moskvitch" – Finnish navy Tuima class missile boats. Soviet-built Moskvitch cars had notoriously poor reputation in Finland.
* "Motel 6" – USS ''Bonhomme Richard'' (LHD-6)
* "Midway Magic" – USS ''Midway'' (CV-41)

N

*"Nasty Asty" – USS ''Astoria''
*"Nasty Nick" – USS ''Nicholas'', name given by crew due to the proclivity of the ship's AC units to break down in hot weather.
*"Nelly" – – also "Nelsol" – from fleet oilers with names ending in "ol" that the Nelson class looked similar to in silhouette.
*"Niffy Jane" – HMS ''Iphigenia''
*"NO Boat" – USS ''New Orleans''
*"Northo" – HMS ''Northumberland''

O

*"O'Broken" – USS ''O'Brien''
*"The O-Boat" – USS ''Oriskany''
*"Old Bones" – Japanese battleship ''Kongō''
*"Old Falling Apart" – , from firing so many rounds during the bombardment of Guam, she appeared to be falling apart.
*"Old Formy" – HMS ''Formidable''
*"Old Hoodoo" – USS ''Texas (1892)''
*"Old Mary" – USS ''Maryland (BB-46)''
*"The Old Grey Ghost of the Borneo Coast" – HMS ''Albion''
*"Old Ironsides" – USS ''Constitution''
*"The Old Lady" – HMS ''Warspite'', from a comment by Viscount Cunningham; impressed by the vintage ship's speed during a mission to aid the British Army in Sicily, Cunningham remarked, "When the old lady lifts her skirts she can run."
*"Old Lady of the Sea" – USS ''New York (BB-34)''
*"Old Salt" –
*"One-Eye" – HMS ''Polyphemus''; Polyphemus was a cyclops in Greek mythology
*"Orjalaiva Kurjala" – Finnish Navy corvette Karjala. The word ''orjalaiva'' means slave ship in Finnish, while ''Kurjala'' references the Finnish word ''kurja'' ("miserable").
*"Outrageous" – HMS ''Courageous''; humorous malapropism
*"The Oki Boat" – USS ''Okinawa''

P

*"Pepper Pot" – – while docked in Valletta harbour, during the Siege of Malta, she was bombed so much she resembled a pepper pot
*"Pierwolf" – USS ''Seawolf''
*"The Pool" – HMS ''Liverpool''
*"Proud Pete" – USS ''Peterson''; play on "Pete" as a diminutive of "Peterson", and on the ship's motto, "Proud Tradition"
*"Prune Barge" – USS ''California''
*"Puffington" – HMS ''Effingham''
*"Puuhamaa" – Finnish navy minelayer Pohjanmaa. An ironical remark of Puuhamaa amusement park.
*"Sweet Pea" – USS ''Portland''
*"Pig Boat" – USS ''California''; The resemblance of the bear on the ship's badge to that of a pig.
*"Pubic Mound" – USS ''Puget Sound''; A play on words with a sound similar to Puget Sound.

Q

*"Quarter-mile Island" – USS ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65) Reference to the ship's nuclear power plant and the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island nuclear station in Pennsylvania.
*"Queer Barge" – USS ''Kearsarge''
*"Queerfish" – USS ''Queenfish''
*"Quiet Warrior" – USS ''Spruance''

R

*"The Red-Eye" – HMCS ''Huron'' (DDG 281) (decommissioned); so named for the tobacco flower blossom on the ship's badge.
*"Refit" –
*"Repair" – HMS ''Repulse''
*"Rezzo" – HMS ''Resolution''
*"Rosie" – USS Franklin D. Roosevelt
*"Rough Rider" – USS ''Theodore Roosevelt''
*"The Tiddly Quid" - (HMS Royal Sovereign)
*"Rodnol" – HMS ''Rodney'' – from fleet oilers with names ending in 'ol'
*"Ruosteensilmä" – Finnish Navy minelayer Ruotsinsalmi. The name means ''Rusty Eye'' in Finnish.
*"Rusty-guts" – HMCS ''Restigouche''
*"Rusty W" – USS ''Washington''

S

*"Sara", "Super Sara", "Sorry Sara", "Sister Sara", "Stripe-Stack Sara", or "Sara Maru" –
*"Saggy Pants" – HMCS ''Saguenay''
*"Sally Rand" – HMCS ''St. Laurent'' (DDH 205) (decommissioned) nickname of several ships which have been named ''St. Laurent'', of which HMCS ''St. Laurent'' DDH 205 was the most recent.
*"San Francisco's Own" – USS ''Carl Vinson''; Name bestowed upon the ship by then-mayor of San Francisco Dianne Feinstein.
*"Seapuppy" – USS ''Seawolf''
*"Shall Not Perish" – USS ''Abraham Lincoln''
*"Shiny Sheff" – HMS ''Sheffield''
*"The Shitty Dick" – USS ''South Dakota'' – nickname given by the crewmen of USS ''Washington'', as a result of South Dakota having been given sole credit in the press for the victory at the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
*"Shitty Kitty" – USS ''Kitty Hawk''
*"Showboat" – USS ''North Carolina''
*"Sleek and Deadly Duck" – USS '' Donald B. Beary''
*"Slack Jack" – USS ''John F. Kennedy''
*"Smiley" – USS ''Jimmy Carter (SSN-23)'' – nickname of former US President Carter
*"The Smoke" – HMS ''London''
*"Sodak" –
*"USS Spring-a-leak" – USS ''Springfield (CLG-7)'' – for her alleged degraded engineering condition near the completion of her final deployment as Sixth Fleet Flagship (over 3 years)
*"Spurious" –
*"Starship Vinson" – USS ''Carl Vinson''
*"Steel Cat" – HMAS ''Brisbane''
*"Stinkin Lincoln" – USS ''Abraham Lincoln''
*"Suckin' 60 From Dixie", or "Suckin' Sara" –
*"Surunmaa" – Finnish navy corvette Turunmaa. Literally "land of sorrow".
*"Swanky Franky" – USS Franklin D. Roosevelt
*"Swayback Maru" – USS ''Salt Lake City''
*"Stressex" – USS ''Essex''; humorous malapropism
*"Steamin' Deuce" – USS ''Essex''; humorous malapropism
*"Slimey Lymie" – USS ''Lyman K. Swenson''
*"Saint Pauline" – USS ''Saint Paul''; Humorous malapropism
*"The Stain" – USS ''Stein''
*"Special K" – USS ''Kawishiwi''
*"San Jack" or "Flagship of the Texas Navy": USS ''San Jacinto''.

T

*"T2" – USS ''Tullibee'' – This nickname was used to identify the second ship named ''Tullibee'' (SSN 597) from the first ''Tullibee'' (SS 284).
*"T.R." – USS ''Theodore Roosevelt''
*"Tea Boat" – HMS ''Ceylon''
*" Tea Chest" – HMS ''Thetis''
*"Teacup" – USS ''Tecumseh''
*"Teddy Ruxpin" – USS ''Theodore Roosevelt''
*"Tico" – USS ''Ticonderoga''
*"Tiddly Quid" – HMS ''Royal Sovereign''. Both ''quid'' and ''sovereign'' are synonymous to pound sterling.
*"Tin Duck" – HMS ''Iron Duke''
*"Three-Quarter Mile Island" – USS ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65) (a pun on ''Three Mile Island'')
*"The Toothless Terror" – HMS ''Scylla''
*"Toasted O" – USS ''Oriskany''
*"Traffie" – HMS ''Trafalgar''
*"Trawler Mauler" – HMCS ''Nipigon'' – stems from an incident in the late 1980s when ''Nipigon'' sank a civilian fishing trawler for being a hazard to shipping
*"Tullibeast" – USS ''Tullibee''
*"The Tartan Terror" – HMAS ''Stuart''
*"Tottenham" – HMS ''Hotspur''. After football team Tottenham Hotspur.
*"Tupperware" – HMS ''Wilton''. First warship to be constructed from Glass-reinforced plastic.
*"Tuska class" – Finnish navy Tuima class missile boats. ''Tuska'' means "agony" in Finnish.
* "Tortanic" – USS ''Tortuga'' (LSD-46)
* "Top Gun" – USS ''Ranger'' (CV/CVA-61)

U

*"Uproarious" – HMS ''Glorious''

V

*"VDQ" – NCSM ''Ville de Québec''. Note that as a designated French-language unit, she properly uses the title ''Navire canadien de Sa Majesté'' (NCSM), which is the French translation of ''Her Majesty's Canadian Ship'' (HMCS)).
*"Von Stupid" – USS ''Von Steuben''
*"Vince" – HMS ''Invincible''
*"Vinny" –

W

* "Weavy" – USS ''West Virginia''
* "Wet Ass Queen" – HMCS ''Wetaskiwin''
* "Winter Pig" – HMCS ''Winnipeg''
* "Wisky" – USS ''Wisconsin''
* "Wicked Witch of the West" – USS ''Wichita''

Y

* "The Y" – USCGC ''Yakutat''

Z

*"Zippo" – USS ''Forrestal''
*"Zoo (The) – USS ''Kalamazoo''

Abbreviations

*NCSM – "Navire canadien de Sa Majesté"; applied to Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces vessels designated as French-language units.
*HMAS – "His/Her Majesty's Australian Ship"; applied to Royal Australian Navy vessels
*HMCS – "His/Her Majesty's Canadian Ship"; applied to Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Forces vessels
*HMNZS – "His/Her Majesty's New Zealand Ship"; applied to Royal New Zealand Navy vessels
*HMS – "His/Her Majesty's Ship"; applied to Royal Navy vessels
*USS – "United States Ship"; applied to United States Navy vessels

See also

* List of nicknames of British Army regiments
* Lists of nicknames – nickname list articles on Wikipedia
* Nicknames of U.S. Army divisions
* Regimental nicknames of the Canadian Forces

References

{{reflist

Warships