[disraeligears]

Isn't it bad luck to rename a ship?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Not at all. Some older Great Lakes ore carriers have had as many as three names.

[Doohickey]

Yes, superstition says that it's bad luck to rename a ship after its christening. Usually that's worked around by re-christening the ship with its new name. But, it's bad luck to rename a ship after someone who has died aboard her. It's also supposed to bad luck for a ship's name to end in the letter a (think Lusitania, Andrea Doria and Arizona.

FWIW, the U.S. Navy doesn't follow any of these superstitions. For example, the ship christened USS Scorpion was renamed USS George Washington during construction. Tragically, it was Scorpion that was lost with all hands on May 22, 1968. I actually served on a ship that ended in the letter a, USS Atlanta, the fourth ship to bear that name. She was definately an unlucky ship, but not in a tragic sense. :)