MIAMI BEACH, FL — Sporting names like Forever Young and Squid Pro Quo, boating enthusiasts are expected to hit the high seas over the long holiday weekend for what is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year, even in states like Florida where the summer never ends. But picking a name for your floating home away from home may not be as easy as it seems.

“It’s a challenge. It’s not as easy as one would think,” confided Scott Croft of the Boat Owners Association of The United States. “Naming a boat is different than naming your kids.”

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Boaters often wrestle with questions like should they name their boat after their child — what happens if they have a second or third? — or love interest — what if the love interest doesn’t work out? — or even something that moves them like a wave of patriotism on the Fourth Of July as in the case of Croft’s first boat.

“I named her Constitution,” he said. “I’m not a lawyer. I don’t follow law. I’m not a judge. I’m not a paralegal, but at the moment in time it was very appropriate. It was sort of to honor the country and feel patriotic long before 9/11.”

You can imagine the wave of questions the name brought. In retrospect, Croft told Patch he found it easier to name his child.

“When my wife and I named our son … it was sort of straight forward,” he recalled. “We each had some ideas but we sort of knew what we wanted. But when it comes to a boat, what do you really want to name it after — how you feel, your family, your lover, your vocation, the day of the week, the timing, the current news events. There’s a bunch of different ways.”

Each year his organization puts out a list of the top 10 boat names based on the number of requests for boat name designs from BoatUS Boat Graphics.

Here are the top 10 boat names for 2019 along with an explanation of each name courtesy of the Boat Owners Association of The United States:

    Croft said boaters needn’t worry if they picked the wrong name for their boat since the vessel’s official designation comes from the Department of Motor Vehicles. The name is just for fun.

    “I will let you know I have renamed every boat I have owned,” he said. “I know people who think it’s superstitious and don’t do that. I know people who think it’s superstitious and the way to overcome it is do a renaming ceremony.”

    For a look at all of the BoatUS Top 10 Boat Names lists over the years go to BoatUS.com/Boatgraphics/Top-10-boat-names.

    Here are some links to boating safety topics we found on the Coast Guard website: