Since the invention of the very first railway steam locomotive in 1804, railway companies have applied names to their locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s, carriage

Carriage

A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...

s and multiple unit

Multiple unit

The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...

s. Numbers have usually been applied too, but not always; the Great Western Railway

Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...

 only applied names to its own broad gauge

Broad gauge

Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...

 locomotives (though numbers were given to such locomotives that it inherited from elsewhere.

Locomotive names have been inspired by a variety of topics over the two centuries of railway operation in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Some examples are set out in the list below:

• Abbeys & Cathedrals

• Animals: Hardly an animal type has been passed over as a source of names. Birds, mammals, molluscs, dog breeds, pre-historic, and fictional animals have all featured. The Great Western Railway
  Great Western Railway
  The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
  
   had an entire class named after birds, and the London and North Eastern Railway
  London and North Eastern Railway
  The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
  
   were also fond of birds for their fast express locomotives (note LNER 4468 Mallard, the world's fastest steam locomotive). However, the most unusual animal names applied were those given to the LNER Class B1
  LNER Class B1
  LNER Class B1 may refer to:* GCR Class 8C * LNER Thompson Class B1...
  
   locos; those of varieties of antelope. Springbok and Gnu might not be unusual, but Bongo was more noteworthy!

• Aristocracy: Important people like to be flattered, and what better way than to name a locomotive after them. It also gave the railways a bit of grandeur. Hence, locomotives were named after Earls, Lords and Ladies amongst others.

• Arthurian Legend

• Artists

• Attractions on Route: Railways have often recognised popular attractions on their route, not least because it might help their business. From geographical attractions (such as Tor Bay) to museums (e.g. Royal Armouries), all types of attraction have been promoted in this way.

• Authors

• Birds LNER A4 Class World record holder for steam traction 'Mallard' is an example

• The British Empire
  British Empire
  The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
  
  : Railway companies, anxious to underline their patriotism and also seeking to add a dash of the exotic to their service, found the Empire to be an endless source of good locomotive names. The names of countries, Dominions, regions, colonies and cities in the Empire were all adopted. This trend was at its peak in the early 20th Century, but in the 1960s, as Empire shrank, these names disappeared entirely together with the steam locomotives that had carried them.

• Castles

• Cities

• Clans

• Commercial & Promotional: In the 1980s, naming of rolling stock started to occur more frequently after some thirty years out of fashion. Unfortunately, many of the names applied since then have been commercial or promotional in nature, and thus rather temporary; some names only being carried for a matter of months. These names celebrate new contracts to move freight, one-off events (like the Commonwealth Games) or publicity tie-ins with radio stations or newspapers.

• Composers

• Counties & Regions

• Engineers

• Famous People (Current)

• Famous People (Historical)

• Fictional Characters: In particular, Scott's 'Waverley' novels.

• Fish and other aquatic creatures: Wagons used for maintenance purposes carry names such as Mackerel (ballast hopper), Dogfish (3-way ballast hopper), and Salmon (track-laying flat wagon with cranes fitted).

• Flowers

• Football Clubs

• Fox Hunts

• Greek, Roman & Norse Mythology: Mythology has proved to be a rich source of exotic and impressive names for locomotives, particularly during the Victorian era. In more recent times, only the more familiar of the mythological figures have been commemorated, e.g. Odin and Vulcan.

• Historic Railways & Locomotives: Companies wishing to show a sense of history and pride, have often applied names that recall historic railway companies and famous old locomotives. Names for the LMS Royal Scot Class
  LMS Royal Scot Class
  The London, Midland and Scottish Railway Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive introduced in 1927. Originally having parallel boilers, all members were later rebuilt with tapered type 2A boilers, and were in effect two classes.-Background:Until the mid-1920s, the LMS...
  
   and British Rail Class 47
  British Rail Class 47
  The British Rail Class 47, is a class of British railway diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Crewe Works and Brush's Falcon Works, Loughborough between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British...
  
   mined this source.

• Houses & Halls

• Monarchs: Railway companies have often sought to gain publicity by naming one of their latest locomotives after the reigning monarch. Historic kings and queens were also remembered. Indeed, the Great Western Railway
  Great Western Railway
  The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
  
   named a whole class of locos after the Kings of Britain and England working backwards from the then current monarch, King George V. Monarchs of other countries were also honoured, though often generically (e.g. The Belgian Monarch).

• Mountains & Hills, Bens & Glens: As imposing natural sights - and often intriguing names - the application of such names to locomotives has become long-standing. British Rail Class 44
  British Rail Class 44
  The British Rail Class 44 or Sulzer Type 4 diesel locomotives were built by British Railways' Derby Works between 1959 to 1960. They were named after British mountains, and consequently nicknamed Peaks.-Description:...
  
   locos were all named after various UK hills and mountains, giving rise to the nichname for the type of Peaks. Many of the British Rail Class 60
  British Rail Class 60
  The British Rail Class 60 is a class of Co-Co heavy freight diesel-electric locomotives built by Brush Traction. They are nicknamed Tugs by Rail Enthusiasts.-History:...
  
   locomotives were also given these names, although sadly most have now been removed.

• Racehorses: It became a tradition to name the principal express locomotives working on the East Coast Main Line
  East Coast Main Line
  The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
  
   after famous racehorses (the implied connection is obvious). Such names were carried by a locomotives in a succession of steam, diesel and electric types, including the LNER Class A3, British Rail Class 55
  British Rail Class 55
  The British Rail Class 55 is a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric. They were designed for the high-speed express passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between and Edinburgh. They gained the name "Deltic" from the prototype locomotive, DP1 Deltic, which...
  
  , and now British Rail Class 91
  British Rail Class 91
  The British Rail Class 91 is a class of , electric locomotives ordered as a component of the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme of the late 1980s. The Class 91s were given the auxiliary name of InterCity 225 to indicate their envisaged top speed of...
  
  .

• Railway Company Directors & Staff: In the past, the senior directors of railway companies often found their names on the sides of their most prestigious locomotives. Since British Rail
  British Rail
  British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
  
   days, such an honour has usually been reserved for the retirement of long-serving staff, including some relatively low-ranking staff.

• Railway Depots: With the upsurge in locomotive naming from the mid-1980s, the staff at many railway depots sought to have one of their fleet named after their depot. In some cases, such a naming celebrated an important anniversary for the depot, its achievement of British Standard 5750 quality status, or even its closure.

• Regiments

• Rivers & Lakes

• Royal Navy (Admirals & Warships)

• Royalty: An extension of the Monarchs theme, members of the extended Royal Family have also been honoured, including Princes & Princesses and Dukes and Duchesses. Most noteworthy are the names applied to the LMS Princess Royal and LMS Princess Coronation classes.

• Saints

• Schools & Universities

• Ships & Shipping Lines

• Singers

• Stagecoaches: The railway may have put them out of business, but it was not averse to using the names applied to old stagecoaches to its new locomotives, especially in the early days of the railways.

• Stars & Signs of the Zodiac

• Traditional Events

• Towns on Route: Whether for promotional reasons, civic pride, or some other reason, many companies in the early 20th Century named locomotives after the towns that they served. The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
  London, Tilbury and Southend Railway
  The London, Tilbury and Southend Railway is an English railway line linking Fenchurch Street railway station in the City of London with northeast London and the entire length of the northern Thames Gateway area of southern Essex. It is currently known as the Essex Thameside Route by Network Rail...
  
   named all its locomotives in this way. Such names fell out of favour because passengers could sometimes confuse the name of the locomotive with the destination of the train. The Midland Railway
  Midland Railway
  The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....
  
   denamed all the LTS locos when it took over, and the Great Western Railway
  Great Western Railway
  The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
  
   removed all such names on its locomotives during 1927-1930.

• Wars & Battles: Similar to the British Empire names (see above), war and battle-related names were popular in the early 20th Century as a demonstration of patriotism. The Crimean, Boer and First World wars in particular provided inspiration. The Southern Railway (UK) used the Battle of Britain as inspiration for some of its 1940s steam locomotives. Some companies also used a locomotive as their war memorial, hence the name Valour, carried by a succession of engines in honour of the war dead (and now on a Class 66
  British Rail Class 66
  The Class 66 is a six axle diesel electric freight locomotive developed in part from the British Rail Class 59, for use on the railways of the UK. Since its introduction the class has been successful and has been sold to British and other European railway companies...
  
   locomotive). Wars could also lead to de-naming; many locomotives with German-sounding names were de-named in the early months of the First World War.