The name Texas has a long history with ships. The Newport News shipyard built two of the previous U.S. Navy ships named Texas — the battleship USS Texas (BB 35) and the cruiser USS Texas (CGN 39).

Texas (Second Class Battleship) The Norfolk Navy Yard launched the first Texas battleship on June 28, 1892 and it went on to take part in the war between the United States and Spain that erupted in 1898. Its name changed to San Marcos in 1911 to allow the name Texas to be assigned to the Newport News-built Battleship 35.

Texas (Battleship No. 35) Newport News launched the battleship Texas May 18, 1912. This Newport News battleship was the second Texas. It went directly to operational duty without the usual shakedown cruise and post-shakedown repair period when it headed toward Mexican waters in 1914 to support American forces ashore. This ship went on to earn five battle stars during World War II. It embarked on its first major combat operation on October 23, 1942 as a part of an invasion of Northern Africa and in 1944 began training for the invasion of Normandy. The ship also later conducted invasion rehearsals and set a course for Iwo Jima. For three days, Texas pounded enemy defenses on Iwo Jima in preparation for the landings. The battleship was decommissioned April 21, 1948 and turned over to the state of Texas to serve as a permanent memorial.

Texas (CGN-39) Texas (CGN-39) was the second Virginia-class nuclear guided missile cruiser. It was built by Newport News and launched on August 9, 1975. It was laid down as a guided missile frigate on August 18, 1973 at Newport News and reclassified as a guided missile cruiser and redesignated CGN 39 when the shipyard launched it. Texas saw combat for the first time when it responded to Libyan aggression in the Gulf of Sidra. The ship’s history also includes service during Desert Storm. In 1993, the ship was decommissioned.

Information from Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships