This spaceship name generator deals a name in one of four styles, a class from courier to generation ship, and a registry mark. It works as a starship name generator for any story or game.
Read the full guide
Name it, class it, mark it
Press New spaceship. Tap a part to lock it, then press again for the rest. Lock the class on courier to name a whole courier fleet. The names come four ways: a virtue, a place, a trade such as Ropemaker, and a dry joke such as Probably Fine.
Where the classes come from
Most of the class words are borrowed from the sea. A corvette is a small warship, a collier is built to carry coal and a lighter is a flat-bottomed barge. The list under the tool has a line for every class and a link to its source.
Tips
For a sci fi ship name generator with a navy feel, lock a virtue name and press for fleet classes.
Joke names read best on small working ships: a tug, a lighter, a tramp freighter.
Questions and answers
How do you name a spaceship?
This page names a ship four ways: for a virtue, a place, a trade or a dry joke of two or three words. Pick the style that suits the crew, then press until one sounds right.
Is this a random spaceship name generator or a list?
Both. Each press draws the name, the class and the registry mark at random. The full lists sit under the tool, with the names grouped by style.
Are these names used in a film, a show or a real space program?
Each name was checked against Wikipedia lists of fictional and crewed spacecraft and searched on science-fiction fan wikis, and matches were cut. No list is complete, so search a name before you publish it.
Does it work as a space ship name generator for any kind of ship?
Yes. The classes run from a tug and a ferry to a generation ship, a hypothetical starship whose voyage lasts for generations. Lock the class you need and press for names.
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 135 names, written on 2026-10-02 in four of the ways ships are named: a virtue, a place, a trade and a dry joke of two or three words. The places are everyday ones and stand for no real town. Every name was screened by script that day and dropped on a hit: the text of English Wikipedia's lists of fictional spacecraft, of crewed spacecraft, of space stations and of Solar System probes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fictional_spacecraft, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crewed_spacecraft, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_space_stations, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_probes) its list of fictional space stations, and its articles on five crewed space programs and craft and on the ships of three well-known science-fiction series; English Wikipedia page titles for the name as a ship, a spacecraft, a film, a novel, a series, an album or a band; exact page titles on 24 science-fiction fan wikis (memory-alpha.fandom.com, starwars.fandom.com, tardis.fandom.com, masseffect.fandom.com, dune.fandom.com, stargate.fandom.com, marvel.fandom.com, dc.fandom.com, warhammer40k.fandom.com, halo.fandom.com, expanse.fandom.com, babylon5.fandom.com, firefly.fandom.com, starcraft.fandom.com, farscape.fandom.com, theculture.fandom.com, honorverse.fandom.com, battlestargalactica.fandom.com, aliens.fandom.com, destiny.fandom.com, nomanssky.fandom.com, stellaris.fandom.com, foundation.fandom.com, cowboybebop.fandom.com); and every list on this site. 104 candidates were cut (39 a Wikipedia page title; 34 on another list of this site; 17 taken out on a second reading; 14 a fan wiki page title), among them Steady Hand, Clemency, Candor, Tenacity, Far Shore, Harbor Lights. No list of ships is complete, so search a name before you publish it. Licence: own work
Class: all 26 classes
Working ships 9
collierAt sea a collier is a bulk cargo ship built to carry coal.
courierA courier delivers messages and packages from one place to another.
factory shipAt sea a factory ship processes and freezes its catch on board.
freighterAt sea a freighter, or cargo ship, carries goods and materials.
Show all 26 classes (22 more)
Working ships, continued
lighterAt sea a lighter is a flat-bottomed barge that moves goods to and from moored ships.
salvage tugA salvage tug rescues ships in distress and recovers ones that have sunk or run aground.
tankerA tanker is built to carry liquids or gases in bulk.
tramp freighterA ship in the tramp trade has no fixed schedule and no published ports of call.
tugAt sea a tug moves other vessels by pushing or pulling them.
Carrying people 6
ferryA ferry carries passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water.
hospital shipA hospital ship serves as a floating medical treatment facility.
linerAn ocean liner is a passenger ship that carries people across seas and oceans.
packetPacket boats carried mail and freight on regular runs in the 18th and 19th centuries.
pilot boatA pilot boat carries pilots between the land and the ships they guide in and out of port.
yachtA yacht is a craft made for pleasure, cruising or racing.
Survey and long voyages 5
generation shipA hypothetical starship whose voyage is so long that generations live out their lives aboard.
lightshipA lightship is a ship that acts as a lighthouse where one cannot be built.
research shipA research vessel is designed, modified or equipped to carry out research at sea.
sleeper shipA hypothetical starship whose crew spends the journey in hibernation or suspended animation.
survey shipAt sea a survey vessel collects data for mapping what lies under the water.
Fleet ships 6
carrierAn aircraft carrier is a warship built to carry, launch and recover aircraft.
corvetteA corvette is a small warship, traditionally the smallest class rated as one.
cruiserA cruiser is a warship, among the largest ships in a modern fleet.
dreadnoughtThe dreadnought was the leading type of battleship in the early 20th century, named for a ship of 1906.
flagshipA flagship is the vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of ships.
pinnaceA pinnace was a small vessel used as a tender to larger ones.
How this list was compiled: 26 classes of ship, most borrowed from the sea. Each line was checked against the English Wikipedia article on that kind of vessel on 2026-10-02 (linked on each line); the wording is ours. Licence: own work
Registry mark: all 39 registry marks
B 1
BRK-204
D 2
DUN-399
DW-661
E 1
EZ-39
H 2
HJ-5520
HVL-66
J 1
JFA-28
K 1
KX-4471
Show all 39 registry marks (31 more)
L 1
LK-742
M 1
MF-2057
O 2
OJ-815
OLM-512
P 2
PWX-705
PY-3098
Q 2
QRT-930
QV-208
T 2
TL-9034
TVS-88
U 1
UH-7713
V 1
VB-1186
W 1
WQ-6402
X 1
XT-93
Z 2
ZEM-141
ZR-17
0–9 15
12-HV-5
1482-J
20-PF-71
208-K
31-TX-8
3306-Z
4-KL-19
5113-V
61-W
66-DM-3
7-QZ-02
725-X
77-Q
9-WJ-44
940-H
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 39 made-up registry marks of letters and numbers, written on 2026-10-02 for stories and games. None was taken from a real aircraft or ship registration or from the fleet of a film or television series. Licence: own work