Seven United States Navy ships have been named USS Columbia, after the personification of the United States, also after the city of Columbia, South Carolina.

• A 44-gun frigate Columbia was under construction at the Washington Navy Yard, but was burned in 1814 to prevent capture by the British.

• The first Columbia was a 50-gun sailing frigate launched in 1836 and in occasional service until 1861, when she was burned to avoid capture by the Confederates.

• The second Columbia was a captured Confederate screw steamer that ran aground in 1863.

• The third Columbia was an ironclad, also captured from the Confederates in 1865 and in use until June of that year(?).

• The fourth Columbia (C-12), later CA-16, was a cruiser in service from 1894 to 1921.

• The fifth Columbia (AG-9) was originally the Great Northern, a troop transport, renamed in 1921 and used until 1922.

• The sixth Columbia (CL-56) was a light cruiser launched 17 December 1941 and active throughout World War II.

• The seventh Columbia (SSN-771) is a Los Angeles-class attack submarine commissioned in 1995 and on active service as of 2004.

In 1792, Captain Robert Gray, in a privately-owned vessel named Columbia sent to the Pacific Northwest to trade for fur, discovered the Columbia River and named it after the ship; it later became the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe.

The Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102), which flew 28 missions between 1981 and 2003, is occasionally referred to as USS Columbia; this is incorrect, however, as she was not a vessel of the United States Navy.