There is no real origin
History has a way of clouding the origin of things. Time just covers up many facts and there are a number of reasons for that taking place. Records are lost, destroyed and the origin is gone forever.
Nobody knows why ships were first called she. The tendency to refer to ships with female pronouns has existed since antiquity, and the original reasons are lost. It may be that sailors, who are often men, refer to their ships with female pronouns in order to bond with them more easily.
While some women may get upset at an inanimate object being called ‘she’ other women may be flattered that they have something named after them. That reference and name let them know how important they are to their special guy.
To learn some of the reasons why boats are called she, just continue reading our article. Since the origin is lost, you are free to pick the reason you like best.
Why do we call ships she?
Many people may not like the following reasons but there is no way to verify which one is correct. Some may seem sexist and insulting but then many men’s opinions about women are sexist and insulting. Boats just get the same label because they act in the same way as many women do.
#1. It’s all about language
Many languages have masculine and feminine words as well as words for in-between categories. The Latin word for ship is navis and this word belongs to the feminine category. That may be one reason why boats are called she.
However, the English word ship comes from the high German word schiff which has no gender attached to it. This complicates the search for an answer to the question.
#2. A synonym for mother
At least that is how some sailors view a ship. They look at a mother and see how the child is safe in her womb. Then they draw the conclusion that they are safe inside the belly of the ship.
Men like the nurturing aspect of a mother and transpose that nature onto their ships. They feel safe, secure and are usually transported safely to their destination. Not all men look at ships this way and it is not sure how popular this concept was or is.
#3. There is a religious option
Many sailors are very superstitious and that feeling has been dominant among sailors since ancient times. Their religious beliefs often had them dedicating their ships to different ancient goddesses hoping for safe travel.
They saw these goddesses as protecting spirits which is why many of the old ships were decorated with a female image at the bow spirit. As beliefs in ancient religions subsided, sailors took to naming their ships after great women or those women who impressed them.
#4. Men honored important women
Not Queens or royalty, but they named their ships after women who had important roles in their lives. This could include naming the ship after a Queen or someone in a high place in the royal family but not always.
Many times, the men named their ships after their wives, mothers, or some woman who had a very important impact on their lives. It was their way of showing appreciation and respect for the efforts those women gave them
#5. Love is always a good reason
This is a hard-to-beat reason for finding the origin of why boats or ships are called she. Men love the ocean, they love their boats and they also love women. This emotion makes it a natural transition to calling boats she.
Calling a boat she is also telling everyone that they treasure their boat or ship as much as they treasure the women they love. This reference shows the true feelings of male sailors so their women had no doubt their men loved them.
#6. Loneliness
Sailors of all ages can spend many months at sea. While out on the ocean with nothing but men surrounding you, it is easy to get lonely for some great female companionship. One way to combat this feeling is to name your ship after a woman.
It is also natural to call your ship a ‘she’ as you fight off the long periods of loneliness. Just the reference can help men endure those long hard months sailing the 7 seas.
#7. It just may be sexist
This and the following reason do not portray women in a great light but they are valid reasons to help find the real origin of why boats are called she. Boats are considered high maintenance and they do come with a lot of expenses.
That is exactly like many women who want to be treated like royalty even though they do not have any royal blood in them. Admiral Nimitz also used this type of meaning to answer this question so it is not just low-class men doing the insulting.
#8. It is the maintenance involved
An anonymous sailor is reported to have described the reason boats are called she as because it is not the purchase price that is so high but the costs that come after you have one.
The upkeep is always expensive like some women. His words are- “a woman and a ship are all decked out and needs an experienced man to handle her or she is uncontrollable. Then she shows her topside while hiding her bottom and when heading to the dock she heads for the buoys.
It is not a nice description of most women but that is just how some sailors feel about women and boats.
Are boats always female?
No, not always. As one Frenchman pointed out as the ships grow larger the tendency is to name them after men or make them male. The example he gave was the German warship ‘Bismarck’ named after the old Prussian Marshall who briefly was President of pre-Hitler Germany.
The Portuguese Man o’ War was named after a powerful species of jellyfish called the siphonophores. This type of ship was used during the 16th and 19th centuries and it was manned with many cannons.
Then the British may be leading the way in naming ships after different humans as well as regions of the country, inanimate objects, and so on. Many of their ships have names like Ark Royal, the Invincible, Glasgow, Belfast, Prince of Wales, and even marine terms like Astute and Defiant.
Then the navies of America, Russia, and France often name their ships after historic figures. These naval ships can be either male or female. The British shipbuilders often call their ships after Queens, for example, Mary and Elizabeth.
The Captain of the Bismarck used the pronoun ‘he’ when referring to his huge and almost destructible ship. Generally, though, most sailors and men use the pronoun ‘she’ to describe the craft they sail on.
There is no law saying you have to use the word, she when referring to your boat. You can use just about any descriptive pronoun or adjective you would like and consider appropriate at the time.
There are some derogatory words often used to describe a ship and how it sails.
A growing trend
In today’s rejection of gender identities, many women and some men are hoping that the term ‘she’ is dropped and replaced by a more gender-neutral term. After all, the boat or ship is an inanimate object and it should be called by a pronoun that correctly identifies inanimate objects– it.
Some captains have used the word ‘it’ in an interview while the interviewer repeatedly used the word ‘she’. So there is some hope that this tradition gets an upgrade or make-over and stops using the word ‘she’ to describe a ship or a boat.
Even with all the legitimate feminine reasons to refer to a ship or boat as ‘she’, it does seem odd that male sailors would do that. Ancient mariners considered having a woman on board a ship was bad luck.
One last reason that may overpower that thinking is that many sailors recognized the power of mother nature. They wanted her on their side and not to use her power against them.
So they decided to appease her by naming their ships or boats after women and started to call them she. It is a possibility but even with that honor, women were still regarded as bad luck and had to disguise themselves if they were going to sail on a larger ship.
Some final words
Whether you like the reference or not, it is possible that it will be around forever. traditions are hard to kill or change. The more sailors refer to their ships or boats as she the more the younger generations will learn to use the same terms.
The key is there is no harm in calling boats or ships ‘she’. The real reason may be lost as to how this tradition started but that is no reason to be insulted by the reference. Take it as a compliment and think your sailor loves you always.
