When the United States Navy ships' hull designations first appeared in 1895, ships were referred to by class followed by their series numbers, such as "Battleship 7" or "Destroyer 17," with ...

Rules for giving certain types of names to certain types of Navy ships have evolved over time. Attack submarines, for example, were once named for fish, then later for cities, and most recently (in ...

The names, hull numbers, and abbreviations that come before a warship's name have been going on for centuries, making the tradition of naming a ship, in a word — complicated. For instance, ships in ...