The first thing most people learn about a yacht is its name. It tells us something about the yacht, doesn’t it? Whether its formal or playful, silly or smart.

But often, the name means little to outsiders, but the world to the owner, who often pay their homage to another human, especially their family and wives.

"No, we're not the magazine," Stew Rachel Axcell said of M/Y Elle. 

Elle refers to the owner's wife, as does Claire, and Melinda Ann. Daughters are big stern stars, too, as with Krishelle, and let’s not forget the power of the family name, as on Namoh.

Toss in a little foreign language and the name is suddenly exotic and mysterious: La Belle Yvette (beautiful Yvette in French), Bella Bri (beautiful Bri in Spanish), Allegria (happiness in Italian), Ohana (family in Hawaiian), Namaste (peace be the journey in Sanskrit), and Sorcha (keeper of the light in Gaelic).

Newvida mixes a little English (new) and a little Spanish (vida) to represent this owner’s new life.

There is a nautical superstition about changing names on a boat. Most yacht owners don’t give it a second thought, but some hold fast to the original name, at least as best they can. When M/Y Lionheart changed hands, the new owner renamed it Cuor Di Leone (a French version of the same name).

Carpe Diem became Carpe Diem II when the owner took the name to his new yacht.

And sometimes, an owner can’t have the name he wants. The 136-foot Hargrave M/Y DREAmer landed its moniker because Dream was already taken. The owner added mer (the sea in French).

Also common is the tradition to paying homage to the thing or idea that brought the owner his wealth. M/Y Big Zip was named by the grandson of the person who invented the zipper. 

The owner of M/Y My Colors created the Pantone color system in use in most printing and paint systems today. (Even Triton Today uses it. That blue rule around photographs is Pantone 293C.)

The owner of M/Y Dazzler is in the jewelry business.

Some names make you think one thing, but it’s really something else. 

"Aspen Alternative is the owner's other option," Chief Stew Caroline Jordan said. The owners decide which place to be, their place in Aspen or, alternatively, on the boat.

History gets its nod on the stern, too. M/Y Trevia is named after the Fountain of Trevia in Italy, which was the meeting point of gladiators.

As does literature. M/Y Dulcinea, a 106-foot Westport, is the true love of Don Quixote, from the novel by Cervantes.

"Dulcinea is ubiquitous, everywhere at the same time," Mate Julianne Hammond said. "And this boat has been everywhere. It's been all over the world."

Sometimes, the words of a name just sound good.

"The owner just heard the phrase and likes the name Sea Loafer," Capt. Kevin Kramer said of the 112-foot Westport, M/Y Sea Loafers III. "It's like a vagabond of the sea."

The owners of Sea Jewel and Harmony simply liked the way the words rolled off the tongue.

These are the names, as best as crew can tell. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to tell if they are serious.

The owner of M/Y Furling Hedzel, a 74-foot Mochi, chartered a sailboat once and heard the crew talk of furling the headsail. He thought they saying hedzel, a member of the crew, and wondered why they would need to keep furling him.

True or not, it’s funny.

And although someone knows why a specific yacht was christened with its name, it doesn’t always filter down to the crew. Bosun Graeme Keane wasn't told the story of M/Y Unbridled.

"None of us know why it's named that," he said.

To see a gallery of more photos, click here.