Ship Christening and Traditional Naming

A ship christening is a public naming ceremony, often associated with the launch of a new vessel. A launch marks the ship’s transition from land to water; the two events do not have to take place on the same day. Royal Museums Greenwich describes the launching ceremony as a formal custom that accompanies this first transition and is intended to wish the ship and its crew good fortune on their voyages. In Britain, breaking a bottle of wine or champagne is one of the best-known forms of the ceremony.

Naming, launch and ceremony

Historically, the two parts could coincide. The proceedings varied according to the period and the arrangements; the British tradition shows how the objects used and the roles involved changed over time.

Changing British customs

For the 15th century, Royal Museums Greenwich describes a royal representative naming the ship, drinking wine from a cup, scattering wine on the deck in the four cardinal directions, and then throwing the cup overboard. Under Charles II in the 17th century, the cup was instead given to the master shipwright. A tankard held at the National Maritime Museum commemorates a ship christening in Woolwich in 1743 and names the ship, its builder and the date.

According to the museum, breaking a bottle of wine or champagne appears to have emerged in the early Georgian era of the 18th century. The earliest documented instance cited there involves a princess of Hanover: she threw the bottle with such force that she missed the ship and injured a spectator, who subsequently sought compensation from the Admiralty. By around 1810, it had become customary to ask a woman to perform the ceremony.

Naming ceremonies and other onboard customs

Such celebrations are among the visible maritime traditions associated with a ship. Other customs are linked to particular events during a voyage: the equator-crossing ceremony, for example, marks crossing the Equator. Flag and signalling traditions are another part of life on board. Ship names also shape how individual vessels are remembered; historic passenger ships offer examples of this as witnesses to their time.