Ship names have long been a HUGE source of political capital for both the Navies and legislatures to spend.

Ships especially combatant and capitol ships are enormous undertakings and involve massive outlays of funding. Something that perhaps might seem unneeded based on the direction of the political winds or say for landlocked poor district representatives. So the question is if the goal of a robust fleet isn't sufficient and the desires of the Admirals for new ships falls flat how do you help get those votes for funds?

Well you name a ship after someone from a landlocked district or better yet after some close to or admired by or an ancestor of someone with current influence. It is no accident for instance that the final completed class of battleships in US service was the Iowa class, or that their successors would have been the Montana class, while they were preceded by the South Dakota class and North Carolina battleships.

Names can also be horse-traded and can help smooth over feelings. Winston Churchill twice attempted to get a battleship named HMS Cromwell while he was First Lord of the Admiralty. King George V would have nothing of the sort, for somewhat understandable reasons, while he also refused the name HMS Pitt for less serious reasons(he was worried in part the crew would call her *something terrible as a nickname as crews are want to low brow humor). But to assuage Churchill's feelings it was decided to name a ship HMS Marlborough after his famous ancestor.

The British have a fine tradition of somewhat more "Intimidating" ship names, but even many of them have fallen by the wayside in the name of reduced ship numbers and the politics of funding.