There was also a penchant for giving ships either classical names, ones which denoted a human quality – and also, in the case of some vessels, a destructive quality! This was so in quite a few navies which today, and probably then, has led to some confusion, particularly if vessels with the same name are present at the same action!
I think to some extent, superstition has also a part to play here (and sailors were traditionally somewhat adept in this field!) Therefore it was often considered unlucky to change a ship's name if it could be avoided. Nothing to do particularly with captured ships but conversely, some names were considered unlucky if a previous ship had come to grief. An example is of course with Victory. It was some little while before their Lordships finally approved of the use of name for the new ship – prompted by the sinking of the previous Victory, with such large loss of life, in 1744.
In some cases it would seem that some classical names were used, even though seamen had difficulty in getting their names around it – which would seem to suggest that this was not a valid reason for changing the name! We can also think here of the famous, British-built, Bellerophon, known as the 'Billy Ruffian' to her crew.
_________________ Kester.
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