Names for future Vesta Class Starships

[Epsilon IX]

This is something of a follow-on from the thread I created in this forum on the names for future Luna Class starships.

As with the Luna Class, I imagine that Starfleet would wish to build more Vesta class vessels, both because they are fast (they've got slipstream drives after all!), and because they have cutting-edge weaponry (they were one of a few classes of ship that could up at least a sufficient defense against the Borg). The only drawback is that because of these features they would be quite expensive to make, and after the devastating conflict with the Borg, the Federation can't really afford the resourcres to build them.

From what I've seen, the Vesta class are named after the hills of Rome (USS Aventine, USS Esquiline and USS Quirinal), so the next lot should be easy to predict:

USS Capitoline,
USS Palatine,
USS Viminal,
USS Caelian

But what next? There are only seven hills of Rome (there are some more but not seen as the 'traditional' ones). Do you think they would continue with a Roman theme, or do you think they would continue a hill theme, but from other cities which are built on hills?

 

[captcalhoun]

dunno if anyone will ever name any other than the seven. KRAD said they were all named after the hills.

 

[Penta]

If you had to continue with the Roman Hills theme:

USS Vatican
USS Janiculum
USS Monte Mario

Not among the traditional seven hills, but Roman Hills nonetheless.

Of course, the lack of names beyond the sevene could be an implicit limiter to the class size.

 

[captcalhoun]

well, the class is called Vesta and (apparently) there's no USS Vesta. if there is a USS Vesta, then all bets are off. Just cuz 7 are named after Roman hills, others could be named for other things.

 

[Christopher]

It's not like every class of starship has a theme unifying all its names. What possible theme could there be unifying Galaxy, Enterprise, Yamato, and Odyssey?

 

[Penta]

Dammit, man, must you kill our fun with your logic?:P

 

[BrotherBenny]

It's not like every class of starship has a theme unifying all its names. What possible theme could there be unifying Galaxy, Enterprise, Yamato, and Odyssey?

The Enterprise is seemingly exempt from class themes. The Galaxy-class starship was the largest of it's kind. The Yamato was the largest naval vessel in WW2, and an odyssey could refer to Homer's large/long epic, or the fact that odyssey is a large undertaking. I would say that the theme speaks for itself.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Vesta, Besta, Lester, Questa, Schmesta...

Naming giant spaceships just isn't for me. FASA came up with some interesting names, as well as some not-so-great ones (USS Peter Preston, anyone?)

 

[Sci]

Obviously the next Vesta-class starship should be named the U.S.S. Barry Allen.

 

[Christopher]

It's not like every class of starship has a theme unifying all its names. What possible theme could there be unifying Galaxy, Enterprise, Yamato, and Odyssey?

The Enterprise is seemingly exempt from class themes. The Galaxy-class starship was the largest of it's kind. The Yamato was the largest naval vessel in WW2, and an odyssey could refer to Homer's large/long epic, or the fact that odyssey is a large undertaking. I would say that the theme speaks for itself.

That's a huge, huge stretch. And it doesn't account for the other canonical Galaxy-class ships, the Challenger and the Venture.

And what about the Miranda class:

USS Brattain (NCC-21166)
USS Lantree (NCC-1837)
USS Majestic (NCC-31060)
USS Nautilus (NCC-31910)
USS Reliant (NCC-1864)
USS Saratoga (NCC-1867)
USS Saratoga (NCC-31911)
USS ShirKahr (NCC-31905)
USS Sitak (NCC-32591)
USS Tian An Men (NCC-21832)
USS Trial (NCC-1948)

Or the http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Excelsior_class#Ships_commissioned

USS Berlin (NCC-14232)
USS Cairo
USS Charleston (NCC-42285)
USS Crazy Horse
USS Enterprise (refit, NCC-1701-B)
USS Excelsior (prototype, NX-2000/NCC-2000)
USS Farragut
USS Fearless (NCC-14598)
USS Fredrickson (NCC-42111)
USS Gorkon
USS Hood (NCC-42296)
USS Intrepid (NCC-38907)
USS Lakota (refit, NCC-42768)
USS Malinche
USS Melbourne (NCC-62043)
USS Potemkin (NCC-18253)
USS Repulse (NCC-2544)
USS Valley Forge (NCC-43305)

If anything, themed class names are the exception to the rule, since of course canonical starships aren't named in groups; individual ship names are made up on a case-by-case basis by different writers or designers at different times, and often the ship name in a script isn't matched with a given class of ship until filming or post-production.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

If we are going for theme naming...Vesta was the deity of hearth, home and family, so when we run out of hills we can switch category to that . How about something like...

U.S.S Deepening (named for the Andorian midnight, where they gather in their clan keeps for a communal meal, as revealed in "Andor: Paradigm")?

Or something...

EDIT: Or....The internet, in its wisdom, informs me Her symbol was the sacred flame, so I'm sure we could come up with a string of fire theme names.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Vesta, Besta, Lester, Questa, Schmesta...

Naming giant spaceships just isn't for me. FASA came up with some interesting names, as well as some not-so-great ones (USS Peter Preston, anyone?)

I have, for my own deranged amusement, a long list of ship names and fictional ship classes into which they slot, with the names being concepts or what-have-yous which I find meaningful. A lot of them are drawn from Trek and other sci-fi, I must say.

(Haughty voice): I have consistant theme naming, I can assure you...

 

[Herbert1]

Probably there is a civilian Secretary of Starfleet who is part of the Federation government who can pick the names of starships based on recommendations by Starfleet, citizens, the Federation Council, and personal taste. It could be that if there is a naming scheme that is started it is not finished for the entire production run of vessels because of name requests or the replacement of the Secretary of Starfleet with a new administration.

Look at the US Navy Seawolf-class submarine for example. USS Seawolf SSN-21 is named for the Atlantic wolf fish. (Attack submarines have historically been named for denizens of the deep.) USS Connecticut is the name for SSN-22 named for the state. (Battleships have historically been named for states of the union.) USS Jimmy Carter SSN-23 is named for former president of the United States,

I tend to choose the names of historical ships for my fan fiction that haven't been used previously or choose a name from the same source as a canon starship.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Probably there is a civilian Secretary of Starfleet who is part of the Federation government who can pick the names of starships. It could be that if there is a naming scheme that is started it is not finished for the entire production run of vessels because of name requests or the replacement of the Secretary of Starfleet with a new administration.

And said officer is clearly a human...

(Unless a Vulcan managed to sneak in the U.S.S ShiKahr while the humans weren't looking...)

 

[William Leisner]

Probably there is a civilian Secretary of Starfleet who is part of the Federation government who can pick the names of starships based on recommendations by Starfleet, citizens, the Federation Council, and personal taste.

Yeah, probably.

 

[Herbert1]

Norman Polmar of the United States Naval Institute wrote an article complaining that there was no longer any recognizable system for naming US Navy ships:

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/names.htm

 

[SpyOne]

It's not like every class of starship has a theme unifying all its names. What possible theme could there be unifying Galaxy, Enterprise, Yamato, and Odyssey?

Named for famous ships.

Anybody else notice that more than half the Constitution Class are named for aircraft carriers?

 

[Herbert1]

It's not like every class of starship has a theme unifying all its names. What possible theme could there be unifying Galaxy, Enterprise, Yamato, and Odyssey?

Named for famous ships.

Anybody else notice that more than half the Constitution Class are named for aircraft carriers?

Most are named for combatants in World War II.

 

[David cgc]

How about the seven hills Cincinnati was built on? You even get a bonus, since that's just something people say, even though there are more than seven of them. Call it USS Adams, USS Auburn, USS Walnut, USS Fairview, USS Clifton, USS Vine, USS Price, USS Fairmount, USS Lookout, USS Hope, USS Echo, and USS Storm.

 

[Herbert1]

USS Lollipop! She's a good ship.