[pavlov]

The naming of the first ship is obvious: Vasa was the royal house of Sweden.

But why did the king decide to call the second ship "The Apple"? Did he like his Macintosh so much?

[sorenjan]

Vasa wasn't named after the royal house, it was named after the vase[0] on the heraldic symbol for the house of Vasa[1]. A vase is probably best described as a fasces. Äpplet was probably named after a globus cruciger[2], or "national apple" (riksäpple), part of the regalia of Sweden.

[0] https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vase_(heraldisk_symbol)

[1] https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasa%C3%A4tten#/media/Fil:COA-...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globus_cruciger

[BurningFrog]

It seems that Gustav I also took the name Vasa from the heraldic symbol, though the Wikipedia article doesn't say so directly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Vasa

[rags2riches]

Gustav was known as "Gustav Eriksson" in his day, "Eriksson" being a patronym. Family names wasn't really a thing at the time, as coat of arms were. The form "Gustav Eriksson Vasa" first appears in the 17th century and simply "Gustav Vasa" isn't used before the 18th.

[vintermann]

The classic "holy hand grenade".

[rags2riches]

Other names of Royal ships in the same style were The Crown, The Key, The Sceptre and The Sword. Like The Apple, they are all regalia.

[robin_reala]

Wikipedia says:

"The Apple" is the Swedish term for the globus cruciger, the regal orb and cross.

[airstrike]

"Globus Cruciger" is a badass name for an indie game

[mayormcmatt]

Tangentially, there is an interesting connection between Scandanavia and the Mac: the command key symbol, AKA Saint John's Arms (among others). When I've visited Sweden, it's all over the countryside, on signs marking places of interest.

[bydo]

Origin story: https://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Swedish_Campgrou...

[sorenjan]

Another similar tangent: Rambo got his name from the Rambo apple, which in turn got its name from Peter Gunnarsson Ramberg who took the name from Ramberget in Gothenburg.

[teddyh]

Which in turn got its name from old swedish “rám” or “ravn”, meaning “raven”.

[Bronze_Colossus]

It's tradition in the Swedish navy to give the largest and mightiest ships name from the Swedish royal regalia. But sure doesn't sound intimidating.