Did you pull the trigger and buy that pontoon boat that you’ve always wanted? If so, congratulations! The next logical step is to take it to the lake and give it a spin. However, before you get your feet wet, you might want to think about giving your boat a good name first.
Pontoon Boat Name Ideas
Naming Your Pontoon Boat
Giving your boat a catchy name will probably be the first step you take towards customizing your boat. It’s the perfect way to explore your creativity and impart a little bit of your own personality onto the boat. You might even find that brainstorming names for your newly acquired vessel feels just as exciting as when you initially bought the pontoon.
Choose Something That Reflects Your Personality
When thinking up the perfect name, you’ll want to think about things that you enjoy doing. After all, your pontoon boat is about to become the tool that you use to explore water-based hobbies. In some ways, your pontoon is a reflection of your own personality.
Think about why you’ve bought a pontoon boat in the first place. Did you buy this pontoon because:
- ...you like to go fishing? (see 127 of the best fishing boat names)
- ...you’re a social butterfly who wants to cruise across the water with your closest friends and family members?
- ...you wanted a sporty pontoon powerful enough to pull skis, towable tubes, and wakeboards across the water?
Whatever the reason inspired you to purchase your pontoon may be, let it help inspire you to pick a suitable name. Ultimately, you’re going to want to pick a name that’s fun and reflects the purpose of your boat.
Need Some Help Deciding?
We know that naming your boat can be quite challenging, especially if you’re an indecisive person who struggles with making decisions. Remember, naming your boat isn’t like naming your firstborn child. You can always change your pontoon’s name later on if you don’t like it. Here are some things to consider when coming up with the perfect name for your boat:
1. What’s your personality?
Like I previously mentioned, how you use your pontoon boat says a lot about your personality. If you have a sports version putting out 350hp and zipping through the water, people are probably going to assume that you’re somewhat of an adrenaline junkie.
Alternatively, if you have a larger, slower pontoon boat that’s built to host a miniature party, you’re probably someone who likes to relax with your friends. Let these little details aid you in naming your pontoon.
2. What are your interests?
Another great way to come up with a boat name is to think about the things that interest you. Things related to traveling, sports, and fishing are all excellent themes to think about when looking for some inspiration.
For example, someone who enjoys history might like to name their pontoon after a Greek or Roman god, like Athena or Apollo. On the other hand, an angler might like a name like De-bait-able or Off the Hook.
For some really cool themed boat names have a look at these for inspiration:
3. What's your occupation?
If you love your job (or even if you don't), you may want to consider incorporating that into your pontoon boat's name. We have a ton of ideas for naming a boat base on different occupations. Check out the following:
4. Get creative and have fun
Naming your boat can be a real treat if you’re someone who likes to make puns. Take a walk around your nearest marina and you’ll see a number of boats with funny names like Aquaholic, Fin and Tonic, or Reel Love. As you can see, people like to have fun with their boat names.
iPhone6s (@yachtmanj) on Some Things to Consider
In the grand scheme of things, what you choose to name your boat is up to you. With that said, the name you choose to call your pontoon boat will be a reflection of you, so you might want to skip out on giving it one of those names that is borderline rude or offensive.
Think carefully about what you want to call your pontoon. Choosing an inappropriate name for your boat could make people have a negative opinion of you before you actually get to know them. After all, the name of your boat is how people will refer to you if they don’t know you. Would you rather be known as Jim from the Trade Winds or Jim from Beer Guzzlers?
Perfect example:
You might not want that rowdy image
If the first impression you leave other people with isn’t enough to make you think about your name, then think about the impression you give the authorities. You’re going to encounter local law enforcement and the Coast Guard periodically as you spend more time pontooning on the water.
What do you think they will assume about someone with a boat named Booze Cruise or Drunk Again? Chances are, you’re going to draw unnecessary negative attention to yourself and will probably be stopped for more inspections than the average pontoon boater. You might want to save yourself the hassle and forget about giving your boat a borderline rude name.
Be careful about difficult names
You may not have thought about this, but choosing a name that’s difficult to read or pronounce can give you problems down the road. The main purpose of naming your boat is in order to be identified by authorities.
Imagine if you had to actually call in a distress call. In a situation where you’re required to act quickly, you don’t want to spend extra time trying to spell out your boat’s name to the authorities. For this reason, you should also be careful when choosing foreign names for your pontoon, as some could cause some confusion.
Here are some: banned boat names to avoid.
How to place the name on the pontoon
The name positioning and placement is a personal choice, so go with where you think it will look best. A great place would be on the side panel as you'll typically get more space. However another popular choice is the rear of the pontoon.
You also have a few options on how to place it on. You can get it printed and DIY, or you can take it in to the professionals. Check out our guides on vinyl wrapping pontoons and pontoon boat wraps for more graphic ideas.
The Final Word about Naming Your Pontoon
As you can see, coming up with a name for your pontoon boat can be a fun experience. It’s a great way to personalize your boat and show everyone a little bit about yourself. Once you’ve come up with a good name for your new pontoon, you’re ready to purchase a decal of the name and stick it on your boat. Try experimenting with different fonts and color schemes until you find something that really brings out your personality.
If you find yourself stuck trying to come up with a good name for your pontoon, relax a little and think about the water-related things that you enjoy doing. Also, don’t make too big of a deal out of naming your pontoon. It’s all done in good fun anyways.
That’s a good tip to name a pontoon after your interests. That way the boat will reflect your personality. I might name a pontoon after a fish, since that’s one of my past times.