Find a name
Press the button for a new batch as often as you like.
Tools
Boat Name Generator
Pick your kind of boat and a style, add a word if you like, and get a fresh batch of names. Each one shows its length, for planning the lettering.
Free tool · no signup
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How to choose a boat name
- Keep it short. A short name fits the hull, reads from a distance and costs less to letter.
- Say it out loud. You may have to give it over the radio, so it should be clear and easy to spell.
- Check the length. The generator counts characters, spaces included; compare that with the space on your hull before you order lettering.
- Live with it for a week. A pun that's funny at the ramp can wear thin by August.
Rules for a documented boat's name
If your boat is documented with the U.S. Coast Guard, the owner must designate a name, and it has to follow federal rules (46 CFR 67.117). It must be made of letters of the Latin alphabet or Arabic or Roman numerals. It can't be identical, actually or phonetically, to words used to call for help at sea, and it can't contain or sound like obscene, indecent or profane language or racial or ethnic slurs. Once documented, the name can't be changed without the National Vessel Documentation Center's prior approval.
For a boat documented only for recreation, the name and hailing port are marked together on some clearly visible exterior part of the hull (46 CFR 67.123). The letters must be durable, clearly legible and at least 4 inches high.
Names and registration numbers are different
A name is your choice; a state registration number is not. Federal rules (33 CFR 173.27) put the number on each side of the forward half of the boat, in plain vertical block characters at least 3 inches high, in a color that contrasts with the hull, reading left to right. Keep the name clear of the number so both stay easy to read.
Common questions
A boat documented with the U.S. Coast Guard does. Its owner must designate one, following the rules in 46 CFR 67.117. A state-registered boat is identified by its registration number on the bow (33 CFR 173.27).
Anything identical, actually or phonetically, to words used to call for help at sea, and anything obscene, indecent, profane or a racial or ethnic slur. The name must use Latin letters or Arabic or Roman numerals.
On a documented recreational boat, the name and hailing port must be at least 4 inches high, durable and clearly legible. State registration numbers must be at least 3 inches high.
Yes, but the name of a documented vessel can't be changed without prior approval from the National Vessel Documentation Center.
Yes. They're ideas to start from; use one as it is or change it to suit your boat.
Sources
46 CFR 67.117 and 67.123 (vessel name and marking) and 33 CFR 173.27 (registration numbers).