Naming your tanks

[War Angel]

I like tanks, they have large surface areas that make it easy to add extra details and the like. They also have nice big areas to put big pieces of parchment on so that you can write the tanks name on it. Which leads us to today’s question.

 

How do you name your tanks? I’ve seen some who only name their models after they achieve great feats. But this brings about other issues when you want to paint the name on the model, and not play with it before it’s finished being painted.

 

Also, if anyone wants to feed me some name ideas, that would be great lol.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

I name them all, and my Iron Hands tanks also have assigned bumper numbers (in binary, of course). I haven't painted any of that physically on the tanks yet though.

 

For reference, I tend to pick names that reflect the tank's type or armament. For example, my tri-Las Predator is Lightbringer, one of my Vindicators is The Judge, my Redeemer is Karashi's Breath (a reference to a Medusan volcano). My Alpha Legion Land Raider is King Cobra.

[Ryltar Thamior]

Mythology's often a rather good go-to for all sorts of naming and other inspiration. 

A much, much younger me, in the days of metal vindicators on old plastic rhinos, decided to name my instance of one 'Polyphemus' - this being the name of the rather prominent cyclops mentioned in The Odyssey, and the idea of a big one-eyed monster seemed rather apt for the demolisher-cannon equipped vindicator. [the same period saw a land speeder tornado named 'Bellerophon', due to the association of the Bellerophon of Greek myth with the Pegasus] 

Now as it happens, the older me, with an abiding enthusiasm and somewhat of a speciality in Indo-European mytho-linguistic matters, notes that "Polyphemus', which would work out as something akin to 'frequently mentioned in dispatches', figuratively speaking, would also make it a pretty cool name for an Astartes war-machine!

And that is *another* reason why it can be rather legit to source names from real-world myth - there's all these underlying hidden bits to the names themselves, their situations within their mythic and cultural contexts, and the subtexts which underpin all of the above, that further add depth and detail to 'bringing something to life'. 

It can also help to reinforce whatever cultural theming you're going for with your army's background; and, for that matter, help to suggest other unit iconography - like, if you're using Nordic names, this may entail the utilization of runes to inscribe the naming, and thence the first portion as a squad identifier for attached infantry. Same deal with Greek script, etc. There may also be particular heraldic or other symbolic references affixed to a given name which may further help in this regard. 

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Now, as an example of something I'm working on at present for our Unification Wars project [long story]; I'm part way through a rather long and drawn out kitbash of a 1:35 scale BMPT into something resembling a super-heavy IFV. Most of my (proto-Imperial) Unity efforts have a decidedly North Indian Hindu eth(n)os going on (for various reasons, including the rather strong support for this being 'authentic', based on an array of BL and FW materials - but I digress) ; so when it came to naming the vehicle (somewhat prematurely I'm nowhere *near* finishing it!), something which immediately seemed to 'suggest itself' to me, was Airavata. 

I won't go into the detailed linguistic/etymological breakdown; suffice to say it means something akin to "Stormcloud", and is also the name of the rather large and mightily impressive elephant vahana [vehicle/mount] of Lord Indra. Which is doubly appropriate because i) this'll keep the thunder-bolts of Unity vibe going ; and ii) in terms of the 'Maruts' and related 'Storm Troopers' [see what I did there? I'll see myself out ..] it's carrying - it's rather fitting for a storm-cloud to be carrying and deploying the 'lightning', so to speak. Also, with the way the weapons mountings are looking, with a combination of large, flat missile-launchers and a long, thin punisher cannon, there'll be something a bit 'elephantine' about this array as well - therefore continuing, overall, the theme. 

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But yeah uh, one way to get started, i suppose, is look at what it is your vehicle's supposed to be doing. Is it artillery? Anti-aircraft? An MBT? A transport? A scout tank or cruiser tank? Infantry support? And then start working 'outwards' from there. Pick a culture, or another historical touchstone [for example, famous personages of a particular period of real-world war-time - or a fictional one ... forty thousand years into the future, people may not be able to tell the difference anymore about events in our time) ; and then see how this or that vehicle that you're working on , might fit into that rubric. 

For example , you might find inspiration for naming a fast but lighter tank after a prominent horse-archer or class thereof [an entire group of people, perhaps -a Predator or a Sicaran named 'Scythian'? ] . One of my autocannon-bearing Harii is named "Skriðdreki" - which is , so I'm told, the Icelandic word for 'Tank' ... yet which actually translates more directly as 'crawling dragon'. 

Cavalry - either famous formations and units, or individual figures - is probably a rather good source of ideas, for obvious reasons. Particularly if you want to take the route of individual ensigns in addition to name-scrolls. There's some not too bad historical tank unit and individual insignia that directly take this path of inspiration. 

A few basic ideas there, anyway. 

 

[PeteySödes]

The older I want the vehicle the more latin-y I go too. :D

 

I also like playing a few games pre-christening. You never know when it'll name itself with a proper act of glory!

[redmapa]

Ive named my Land Raiders after famous Spanish horses, one is Rocinante (don quixote) and the other is Babieca (Cid Campeador), I liked both names and they are both implying horses of poor quality which I found funny.

[Gederas]

For my Dark Angels, the tank names aren't super creative, as most of them will tie to Caliban or stuff about the Chapter. Hammer of Caliban for an Artillery tank for example.

 

For my homebrew chapter, the Blades of Arawn (when I get around to actually making the army :lol:), since they're Celtic-based, I'm naming the tanks and land vehicles after monsters/gods from Celtic mythology. So like Bánánach, Coinchenn, Nuckelavee, etc. Aircraft (both normal combat and their spacecraft) are named after female figures from Celtic Myth/History (for example: their fleet's Flagship is the Mórrígan, two of their Thunderhawks are Scáthach and Aífe).

[Marshal Vespasian]

I just try to think of loosely fitting words describing the role of the vehicle and look up what it means in latin. Reoeat until I find something that sounds nice.

 

Maybe when I get around to doing something that isnt rhinos I might do names of castles.

[Beta galactosidase]

I like to make sure the names are about the crew and the things the chapter has. Naming the ‘lightning strike,’ etc is too on the nose for me. After all, the chapter has dozens of each kind of tank and they can’t all be variants of speedy-fighting-thing or armored-fighting-thing.

 

GW have been pretty good at that. The Night Hag or the Demands with Menaces are pretty good names they use for a ship and a tank. That’s what I like. I use bowdlerized names of historical figures or people from my personal life, or jokes that are modified enough that they don’t break the fourth wall. I have one called the meséñero, inspired by the canyonero, a fictional suv model from a tv show I don’t even watch. Sometimes names don’t even have to be changed too much, like if you name one after Grandizo Munis. It’s also nice to translate names into modern English, instead of the other way around which is vacuous I think. So you could name something after Sophie Scholl, a German hero, which means something like Wisdom of the Earth.

[Brother Cambrius]

I tend to go with Low Gothic names instead of the Latin ones recently, usually referencing the homeworld of my Chapters, or their genesire. Examples include my Vindicator "Thunderheart" and "Fury of Caeron" (Caeron being my Vanquishers' homeworld). With some of the more classical old mythological names and Welsh names from my native tongue, I tend to mutate and alter the names slightly to give it a unique spin.

 

 

 

 

For my homebrew chapter, the Blades of Arawn (when I get around to actually making the army ), since they're Celtic-based, I'm naming the tanks and land vehicles after monsters/gods from Celtic mythology. So like Bánánach, Coinchenn, Nuckelavee, etc. Aircraft (both normal combat and their spacecraft) are named after female figures from Celtic Myth/History (for example: their fleet's Flagship is the Mórrígan, two of their Thunderhawks are Scáthach and Aífe).

 

 

 

For my Dark Angels, the tank names aren't super creative, as most of them will tie to Caliban or stuff about the Chapter. Hammer of Caliban for an Artillery tank for example.

 

For my homebrew chapter, the Blades of Arawn (when I get around to actually making the army ), since they're Celtic-based, I'm naming the tanks and land vehicles after monsters/gods from Celtic mythology. So like Bánánach, Coinchenn, Nuckelavee, etc. Aircraft (both normal combat and their spacecraft) are named after female figures from Celtic Myth/History (for example: their fleet's Flagship is the Mórrígan, two of their Thunderhawks are Scáthach and Aífe).

 

Cambrius

[Jacques Corbin]

I have a Razorback with Twin Assault Cannon that I named Bert, because when he fires, it goes "Brrrrrrrrrrt"!

[Imren]

I have a Razorback with Twin Assault Cannon that I named Bert, because when he fires, it goes "Brrrrrrrrrrt"!

 

You should have noted the day you finished that tank and each year celebrate "happy brrrrtday".

[Ryltar Thamior]

I have a Razorback with Twin Assault Cannon that I named Bert, because when he fires, it goes "Brrrrrrrrrrt"!

Oddly enough, I did something ... not entirely dissimilar with the very large punisher cannon wielding truescale Thunder Warrior we did awhile back. As mentioned above, Vedic theme, so it seemed pretty straight-forward for a name to go with something Roudran, relating to Rudra. One frequently cited etymology for the theonym (and related class of deifics) Rudra being "Roarer". Which is exactly what a very large punisher cannon does when it's fired. Makes a loud roaring noise. 

 

There are quite a few instances out there of mytho-religious names which match up rather well with concepts that are more 'modern' in initial inclination. 

 

Alternatively, the "brrrrrrrrrrrt" did also vaguely remind me of Gucci Mane. Now *there* would be a rather strange sobriquet for an Astartes war-machine ... after suitable latinization, maybe, of course. It's ... it's almost there as it is - I mean, "Mane" would be "Morning", but were it "Manes", instead, we'd have shades of the dead (in a positive sense) [can also mean 'mortal remains', or an afterlife], or if you were going for a singular, if for some reason it was a neuter noun, yeah, "mane" in nominative. Closest I can get to "Gucci" in Latin, however, is "Gurges", meaning a 'whirlpool' or other 'devouring' watery feature.

 

So you could perhaps, and I apologize because this is likely not going to be grammatically correct as I'm attempting to run two nouns as a noun and an adjective [the latter, genitive case noun] as I've forgotten looong ago how to do this properly ... "Gurges Manium" as something along the lines of 'the whirlpool [or downpipe] of the netherworld" or of the souls of the forebears ; interestingly, I've also just happened across people translating "Gurges" in the sense of a "Storm", and with a shift to another noun - which, in ablative case, is a homophone for the first in the same case, "Gurges Manibus" would therefore not only do the former "Whirlpool/Downpipe of the [Glorious] Dead" ... but according to a brief scan of the meanings for "Manus", could get you a few things including "hand", "trunk" [like, of an elephant], tree-branch, a sword-thrust, a *power*, a power of arrest, bravery, a military unit, and handwriting. 

 

"Gurges Manibus", therefore, whether applied to a razorback with dual assault cannons, or some vehicle with a punisher cannon, or whatever - is where the 'storm' reaches out and touches you, dragging you down to the netherworld via the clawing rending hands of the battalion of the glorious ancestors, as projected out from the elephantine-trunk of the weapons-barrel , leaving their handwriting in the manner of a multitude of sword-thrusts in the mortal remains. As a pretty strong sanction of Imperial law, and the very expression of mankind's martial valour in motion. Or something. 

 

It's just before 03:28 in the morning, and I've attempted to make a rather broad-use pun /figurative-evocative construction in a millennia-old liturgical language, based around an injoke I just came up with for a trap-rapper's catch-phrase sounding like the memetic discharge noise of an A-10's GAU-8 , as triggered by somebody else's pet name for their Razorback, mentioned in passing, in a thread on a 40k forum. 

 

I think I need help. Probably with the Latin grammar. 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

For my Blood Angels descendant, I named a Land Raider Redeemer the "Iron-hearted Judge", a Land Raider Crusader the "Iron-hearted Jury" (its Transport Capacity was reduced to 12, to accommodate a second twin-linked assault cannon), a Land Raider the "Iron-hearted Executioner". For my Iron Hands descendant, I named a modified Predator the "Logic of Faith", as it serves as a Chaplain's Dedicated Transport.

[Gederas]

I have a Razorback with Twin Assault Cannon that I named Bert, because when he fires, it goes "Brrrrrrrrrrt"!

Oddly enough, I did something ... not entirely dissimilar with the very large punisher cannon wielding truescale Thunder Warrior we did awhile back. As mentioned above, Vedic theme, so it seemed pretty straight-forward for a name to go with something Roudran, relating to Rudra. One frequently cited etymology for the theonym (and related class of deifics) Rudra being "Roarer". Which is exactly what a very large punisher cannon does when it's fired. Makes a loud roaring noise. 

 

There are quite a few instances out there of mytho-religious names which match up rather well with concepts that are more 'modern' in initial inclination. 

 

Alternatively, the "brrrrrrrrrrrt" did also vaguely remind me of Gucci Mane. Now *there* would be a rather strange sobriquet for an Astartes war-machine ... after suitable latinization, maybe, of course. It's ... it's almost there as it is - I mean, "Mane" would be "Morning", but were it "Manes", instead, we'd have shades of the dead (in a positive sense) [can also mean 'mortal remains', or an afterlife], or if you were going for a singular, if for some reason it was a neuter noun, yeah, "mane" in nominative. Closest I can get to "Gucci" in Latin, however, is "Gurges", meaning a 'whirlpool' or other 'devouring' watery feature.

 

So you could perhaps, and I apologize because this is likely not going to be grammatically correct as I'm attempting to run two nouns as a noun and an adjective [the latter, genitive case noun] as I've forgotten looong ago how to do this properly ... "Gurges Manium" as something along the lines of 'the whirlpool [or downpipe] of the netherworld" or of the souls of the forebears ; interestingly, I've also just happened across people translating "Gurges" in the sense of a "Storm", and with a shift to another noun - which, in ablative case, is a homophone for the first in the same case, "Gurges Manibus" would therefore not only do the former "Whirlpool/Downpipe of the [Glorious] Dead" ... but according to a brief scan of the meanings for "Manus", could get you a few things including "hand", "trunk" [like, of an elephant], tree-branch, a sword-thrust, a *power*, a power of arrest, bravery, a military unit, and handwriting. 

 

"Gurges Manibus", therefore, whether applied to a razorback with dual assault cannons, or some vehicle with a punisher cannon, or whatever - is where the 'storm' reaches out and touches you, dragging you down to the netherworld via the clawing rending hands of the battalion of the glorious ancestors, as projected out from the elephantine-trunk of the weapons-barrel , leaving their handwriting in the manner of a multitude of sword-thrusts in the mortal remains. As a pretty strong sanction of Imperial law, and the very expression of mankind's martial valour in motion. Or something. 

 

It's just before 03:28 in the morning, and I've attempted to make a rather broad-use pun /figurative-evocative construction in a millennia-old liturgical language, based around an injoke I just came up with for a trap-rapper's catch-phrase sounding like the memetic discharge noise of an A-10's GAU-8 , as triggered by somebody else's pet name for their Razorback, mentioned in passing, in a thread on a 40k forum. 

 

I think I need help. Probably with the Latin grammar.

I hope you realize I'm using that on one of my Dark Angels tanks, and no one can stop me

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

I’ve named my land raiders thusly:

Land Raider Redeemer Tukoth—dragon name (or at least sounds like it), he will have a brother, Tavorth.

Land Raider Excelcior: Æonic Light, twinned to the Rhino Primaris Æonic Night—bringing searing light and the cold depths of the night to the enemies of man. They are painted accordingly.

 

My Stormtalon is Raging Current, as it felt suitable for a (poorly) Samurai themed chapter, and the fact that the undersides of the wings had curved patterns like a river on them when I was building it. Yay for distinctive production defects!

I have a Razorback I need to name, though it will likely take a while.

[War Angel]

I’m looking to name my three repulsor (two of which I haven’t ordered) and I thought I would name them after the Marine Corps values (you might have seen this mentioned in my WIP thread). Honor Courage Commitment. My thoughts were to go with “wrath of Honor” “something of Courage” and “faith of Commitment”

 

But now I’m not so sure. Lol. Anyone got some feedback and suggestions?

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Honor's Demand. Aegis of Courage. Committed in Steel.

[Ryltar Thamior]

You could always see about finding suitably impressive Latin mottos built around the concepts in question. 

A rather obvious one, of course, being the Semper Fidelis 

[Disruptor_fe404]

I generally think something up based on the vehicle, it's armament, and the mental image of what it does on the battlefield. This is a very relevant topic because I'm currently painting a Predator, so I'll give you the low down on what I'm rocking thus far:

 

The quad-las Predator is named the Searing Light, because that fits the mental image as well as conforming with a knightly/clerical theme I'm cultivating for my Chapter. Trivia: Searing Light is also a very popular cleric spell in Dungeons & Dragons.

 

The dakka Predator is called Rolling Thunder, because that's exactly what it does; rumble up the battlefield, heavy bolters chattering away and punctuated by the boom of the autocannon. Trivia: also the name of a very efficient damage-dealing Magic: the Gathering card (in addition to being a natural phenomenon).

 

The combi Predator is named Arcing Bolt, because of the lascannon beams being visible before you hear the autocannon, and because it evokes the idea of the Emperor smiting a for with a thunderbolt.

 

Finally, my Baal Predator is called Reaping Wind, because the amount of bullets it spits out absolutely tears up a battlefield with invisible violence. Trivia: this was very nearly called Searing Wind, after another Magic: the Gathering card (I generally give them a quick look over because the names tend to be quite succinct).

 

Bonus: my Rhino Primaris/Damocles Command Rhino is named Guiding Sight because of the role it plays most often.

[War Angel]

Recons motto is swift silent deadly. Could combine the two. Swift honor, Silent Courage, Deadly Commitment.

[Gederas]

I generally think something up based on the vehicle, it's armament, and the mental image of what it does on the battlefield. This is a very relevant topic because I'm currently painting a Predator, so I'll give you the low down on what I'm rocking thus far:

 

The quad-las Predator is named the Searing Light, because that fits the mental image as well as conforming with a knightly/clerical theme I'm cultivating for my Chapter. Trivia: Searing Light is also a very popular cleric spell in Dungeons & Dragons.

 

The dakka Predator is called Rolling Thunder, because that's exactly what it does; rumble up the battlefield, heavy bolters chattering away and punctuated by the boom of the autocannon. Trivia: also the name of a very efficient damage-dealing Magic: the Gathering card (in addition to being a natural phenomenon).

 

The combi Predator is named Arcing Bolt, because of the lascannon beams being visible before you hear the autocannon, and because it evokes the idea of the Emperor smiting a for with a thunderbolt.

 

Finally, my Baal Predator is called Reaping Wind, because the amount of bullets it spits out absolutely tears up a battlefield with invisible violence. Trivia: this was very nearly called Searing Wind, after another Magic: the Gathering card (I generally give them a quick look over because the names tend to be quite succinct).

 

Bonus: my Rhino Primaris/Damocles Command Rhino is named Guiding Sight because of the role it plays most often.

Rolling Thunder is also the name of the ability of the Sicaran Punisher Assault Tank

[chapter master 454]

My tanks are dubbed after things ether in scottish mythos or scottish related things. Though that is my entire chapter.

My siege tanks tend to get castle names. Donan is the most well known scottish castle and is a sort of joke (as it is the most photographed castle in scotland) while Blackness is a bit more odd, castle Blackness was built (as far as I was told) to look like a ship and thus got a monkier of "the ship that never sailed", this vindicator (an old fashioned one) sat in a plastic box for more than 10 years before being finally repaired and built (my younger self was not patient with metal) and so was the "Vindicator that never fought"

 

My other tanks tend to take after notable myths. My first and oldest model, my land raider is dubbed Stoorworm. The Crusader is dubbed the Grey Dog (which isn't a myth I admit but a neat Tidal race found in scotland) while my Redeemer is called Corryvreckan.

 

I also have a thunderfire cannon called Morvern. Dubbed after a giant of that area in myth who would hurl rocks at giants on the island of Mull (done a trip round all of Mull in fact, nice island) and cause them great injuries.

[Willy Pete]

I went a slightly different route with naming my Marine tanks.  Yes, they are holy warrior monks of the God-Emperor, but they're still Marines.  So I took inspiration from the real world Marines and soldiers I've served with.

 

My lascannon Pred is Hot Rails to Hell, my Whirlwind is High Angle Hell, my two Land Speeders with assault cannon and heavy bolters are Rip and Shred, my three Vindicators are Open Wide, Up Yours and Swallow This, and my Land Raider Crusader is named Bend Over. 

 

And if I were to give my Space Marines dialogue, every other word would be 'expletive deleted'.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I went a slightly different route with naming my Marine tanks. Yes, they are holy warrior monks of the God-Emperor, but they're still Marines. So I took inspiration from the real world Marines and soldiers I've served with.

 

My lascannon Pred is Hot Rails to Hell, my Whirlwind is High Angle Hell, my two Land Speeders with assault cannon and heavy bolters are Rip and Shred, my three Vindicators are Open Wide, Up Yours and Swallow This, and my Land Raider Crusader is named Bend Over.

 

And if I were to give my Space Marines dialogue, every other word would be 'expletive deleted'.

You have an Angry Marines army, don't you?

[Ishagu]

I don't name them but they are all numbered with roman numerals