List of military units named after people

The following article comprises a list of military units, paramilitary groups, irregular armies, and other related armed formations alike that are named after various renowned individuals.

The Lincoln Battalion of the Spanish Civil War (left) took their name in homage to former US President Abraham Lincoln (right).

In addition to the official military and sub-military forces of various nations (both current and historical), this list also includes armed formations that are not under government administration such as volunteer militias, mercenary units, insurgent rebel groups, militant wings of political parties, extrajudicial death squads, guerilla armies, Private military companies, and terrorist-designated organizations.

However, combat units whose names include a particular ideological movement in them which happens to be derived after a certain individual it is associated with (e.g. “Marxist–Leninist”, “Sandinista” or “Christianity”) are not to be included in this article. For example, Guevarista Revolutionary Army would not be a permitted entry as the "Guevarista" part in its name refers to Guevarism, an eponymous political ideology named after communist revolutionary Che Guevara.

• 1st Cavalry Division "Eugenio di Savoia" – named after Prince Eugene of Savoy (Italian: Principe Eugenio di Savoia).
• 1st Fallschirm-Panzer Division Hermann Göring – named after Hermann Göring, the final President of the Reichstag and former Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe who stood as one of Adolf Hitler's closest allies and highest ranking generals during the Third Reich.
• 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division – named after Tadeusz Kościuszko.
• 2nd Training Motor Rifle Division "Alp Arslan" – named after Alp Arslan, the second Sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire.^[1]
• 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta" – named after Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta (Italian: Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta)
• 5th Infantry Brigade "István Bocskai" – named after Stephen Bocskai (Hungarian: Bocskai István).
• 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division "Prinz Eugen" – named after Prince Eugene of Savoy (German: Prinz Eugen von Savoyen)
• 8th SS Cavalry Division "Florian Geyer" – named after Florian Geyer, German nobleman who commanded the Black Company during the German Peasants' War.
• 9th SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen" – named after the Hohenstaufen Dynasty.
• 10th SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg" – named after Georg von Frundsberg.
• 14th Mechanized Brigade "Prince Roman the Great" named after Roman Mstislavich.
• 17th Ali ibn Abi Taleb Division – named after Ali ibn Abi Talib.^[2]
• 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Götz von Berlichingen" – named after Renaissance-era German mercenary Götz von Berlichingen.^[3][4]
• 18th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division "Horst Wessel" – named after Horst Wessel, a young Sturmabteilung leader who posthumously became a martyred figure (Blutzeuge) for Nazi Party propaganda after being gunned down by members of the rivaling Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands.^[5][6]
• 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg – named after Skanderbeg, a 15th-century Albanian military commander who led a successful resistance against the Ottoman Empire in the Western Balkans from 1443 until 1468.
• 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Maria Theresia – named after Maria Theresa.^[7][8][9]
• 25th Infantry Brigade "György Klapka" – named after György Klapka.
• 25th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Hunyadi (1st Hungarian) – named after John Hunyadi.
• 30th Prince Konstanty Ostrogski Mechanized Brigade – named after Konstanty Ostrogski.
• 37th SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Lützow – named after Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow.
• 57th Otaman Kost Hordiienko Motorized Brigade – named after Kost Hordiienko.
• 68th Jaeger Brigade "Oleksa Dovbush" – named after Oleksa Dovbush.
• 44th Separate Artillery Brigade "Hetman Danylo Apostol" — named after Danylo Apostol.
• 92nd Assault Brigade "Ivan Sirko" – named after Ivan Sirko.
• 303rd "Tadeusz Kościuszko Warsaw" Fighter Squadron – named after 18th century Polish general Tadeusz Kościuszko.

• Abraham Lincoln Brigade – named after Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States.^[10][11]
• Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades – named after Abu Ali Mustafa, a communist Palestinian militant who served as the General Secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine until his assassination by Israeli forces in 2001.
• Abu Nidal Organization – named after Palestinian political leader Abu Nidal.^[12][13]
• Akhmat special forces unit – named after Akhmat Kadyrov, the first President of the Chechen Republic.
• Al-Abbas Brigade – named after Abbas ibn Ali.^[14][15]
• Al-Khansaa Brigade – presumed to be named after 7th-century Arabian tribeswoman al-Khansa'.
• Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades – named after Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub.^[16][17][18]
• al-Zulfikar – named after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.^[19]
• Alex Boncayao Brigade – named after Filipino labor leader Alex Boncayao who was killed by Philippine government security forces in 1983.^[20]
• Ali ibn Abi Talib Battalion – named after Ali ibn Abi Talib.
• Andrew Mlangeni Regiment – named after Andrew Mlangeni.^[21]
• Antonio Gramsci Battalion – named after Antonio Gramsci, an Italian Marxist intellectual who died in 1937 as a result of health complications he accumulated from longterm imprisonment with unsanitary conditions.^[22]
• Arkan's Tigers – namesake of its founder and first commander Željko "Arkan" Ražnatović.^[23][24]
• Armée du Colonel Barakat – named after Antoine Barakat.^[25]
• Army Detachment Kempf – named after Werner Kempf.^[26]
• Army Detachment Steiner – named after Felix Steiner.^[27]
• Ascaso Column
• AWD Finland "Siitoin Squadron" – named after Pekka Siitoin, a Finnish neo-Nazi occultist.^[28][29]
• Baader–Meinhof Group – named after Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof.^[30][31][32]
• Babini Group – named after Valentino Babini.^[33][34]
• Bagramyan Battalion – named after Soviet Armenian military commander Ivan Bagramyan.^[35][36]
• Baqir Brigade – named after Muhammad al-Baqir.^[37][38][39]
• Battaglioni M – named after Benito Mussolini ("M" for Mussolini), the Prime Minister of Italy during the country's Fascist era.
• Bogdan Khmelnitsky Battalion – named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky.^[40]
• Bonnot Gang
• Brigade "Rey Alfonso XIII" II of the Legion – named after Alfonso XIII.^[41][42][43]
• Brigate Garibaldi – named after Giuseppe Garibaldi.
• Cavalry Corps Schmettow – named after Eberhard Graf von Schmettow.
• Carlos Palomino International Brigade – named after Carlos Javier Palomino Muñoz, a Spanish teenager who was stabbed to death by a Basque neo-Nazi skinhead while heading to counter-protest at an anti-immigrant rally in Madrid.^[44][45]
• Carlos Patiño Front – named after Carlos Arturo Patiño Restrepo, a Colombian far-left paramilitary commander and drug trafficker reputedly affiliated with the Norte del Valle Cartel.^{[46][47][48][49][50][51][52]}
• Charlemagne Division – named after Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor.^[53][54]
• Connolly Column – named after James Connolly, an Irish republican and revolutionary socialist who was executed by Imperial British soldiers for his role in the Easter Rising.^[55][56]
• Creuzbourg's Jäger Corps – namesake of its commander Karl Adolf Christoph von Creutzburg.
• Dąbrowski Brigade – named after Jarosław Dąbrowski.
• De Watteville's Regiment – named after Louis de Watteville.^[57][58]
• Detachment Brandenstein – namesake of its commander Otto von Brandenstein.
• Descendants of Saladin Brigade – named after Saladin.
• Dillon's Regiment (France) – named after Theobald Dillon, 7th Viscount Dillon.
• Dimitrov Battalion – named after Bulgarian far-left politician and founder of the Bulgarian Communist Party, Georgi Dimitrov.^[59]
• Dirlewanger Brigade – namesake of its commanding officer, Oskar Dirlewanger.^[60]
• Division von Broich/von Manteuffel – initially named after Friedrich Freiherr von Broich during the time that the unit existed as Division von Broich. The unit was later renamed to Division von Manteuffel after Hasso von Manteuffel was appointed as its new commander in 1943.
• Drabant Corps of Charles XII – named after Charles XII of Sweden, the King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718.^[61][62]
• Durruti Column – named after its commander Buenaventura Durruti, a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist revolutionary and anti-fascist militant.^[63]
• Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion – named after Dzhokhar Dudayev, a Chechen nationalistic statesman who served as the first president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
• Efraín Plaza Olmedo Dynamite Band
• Emilia Plater Independent Women's Battalion – named after Emilia Plater.
• Emmet Monument Association – named after Robert Emmet.^[64][65]
• Fallschirmjäger-Division Erdmann – named after its commander, Generalleutnant Wolfgang Erdmann.
• Fallschirm-Panzergrenadier Division 2 Hermann Göring – named after Hermann Göring.
• Fedayeen Saddam – named after then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.^[66][67]
• Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment – named after Felix Dzerzhinsky.^[68][69]
• Forces of Martyr Ahmad al-Abdo – the name of this military unit is said to be referring to either Syrian rebel commander Ahmad al-Abdo or Ahmad al-Abdo al-Saeed, a Syrian civilian who was killed during the Syrian revolution.
• Freikorps Caspari – named after its commander Walter Caspari.^[70][71][72]

• Garibaldi Battalion – named after former Deputy of the Kingdom of Italy and soldier of the Risorgimento: Giuseppe Garibaldi.^[73]
• Garibaldi Brigade – named after Giuseppe Garibaldi.
• Gajaba Regiment – named after Gajabahuka Gamani.
• Gastone Sozzi Centuria – named after Italian communist Gastone Sozzi.
• George Jackson Brigade – named after American black power activist and Black Guerrilla Family founder George Jackson.
• George Washington Battalion – named after American founding father George Washington, who served as the very first president of the United States.
• Grey's Scouts – named after George Grey.^[74][75]
• Hadžiefendić Legion – named after Muhamed Hadžiefendić.^[76][77]
• Hazen's Regiment – named after Moses Hazen.^{[78][79][80][81]}
• HDF 34th Bercsényi László Special Forces Battalion – named after Ladislas Ignace de Bercheny.
• Henri Barbusse Battalion – named after Henri Barbusse, a French communist and novelist.^[82][83][84]
• Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin – named after Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.^[85]
• Hezb-i Islami Khalis – named after Mohammad Yunus Khalis.^[86][87][88]
• Hitler's Henchmen – named after Adolf Hitler.^[89][90]
• Hlinka Guard – named after Andrej Hlinka, a Slovak Clerico-Fascist politician who founded and led the Slovak People's Party up until his death in 1938.^[91]
• Houthi movement – named after founder Hussein al-Houthi.^[92][93]
• Huey P. Newton Gun Club – named after Black Panther Party founder and far-left African-American civil rights activist Huey P. Newton.^[94][95][96]
• Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis – named after Louis XVIII.^[97]
• Ibn Taymiyyah Brigade – named after Ibn Taymiyya.^{[98][99][100]}
• Imam al-Mahdi Scouts – named after Muhammad al-Mahdi.^{[101][102][103]}
• Imam Ali Battalion – named after Imam Ali, the fourth and final caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.^[104][105]
• Imam Shamil Battalion – named after Imam Shamil.
• Infantry Division Ferdinand von Schill – named after Ferdinand von Schill, a Prussian Army major known for leading an attempted revolt against the Napoleonic forces in Germany.
• Infantry Division Friedrich Ludwig Jahn – named after German nationalist Friedrich Ludwig Jahn.
• Infantry Division Schlageter – named after Albert Leo Schlageter.
• Infantry Division Theodor Körner – named after Carl Theodor Körner.
• Isaac Puente Battalion – named after Isaac Puente.
• Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades – named after Izz ad-Din al-Qassam.
• Jan Žižka partisan brigade – named after Jan Žižka.^[106][107]
• John Brown Anti-Klan Committee – named after John Brown.
• Jean Marc Rouillan Armed and Heartless Columns – named after Jean Marc Rouillan.
• Jovan Šević Detachment – named after 18th-century Slavo-Serbian military officer Jovan Šević.
• Kadyrovites – named after Chechen pro-Russian warlord Ramzan Kadyrov in order to designate their allegiance to him.^[108]
• Kaminski Brigade – named after Bronislav Kaminski.^{[109][110][111]}
• Karrer Regiment – named after the group's founder and first colonel-proprietor Franz Adam Karrer.^[112][113]
• Kastuś Kalinoŭski Regiment – named after Kastuś Kalinoŭski, a Polish-Belarusian revolutionary activist who was one of the leaders of the January Uprising. Kalinoŭski has posthumously become a national hero and icon of Belarusian nationalism along with the Belarusian democracy movement.^{[114][115][116]}
• Khalid ibn al-Walid Brigade – named after Khalid ibn al-Walid.
• Khamis Brigade – namesake of the brigade's commanding general Khamis Gaddafi.^[117]
• Kit Carson Scouts – named after American frontiersman Kit Carson.

  

• Krempler Legion – named after its commander Karl von Krempler, a German SS-Standartenführer and SS- und Polizeiführer who managed to coordinate a Bosnian Muslim volunteer division of the Waffen-SS to fight against the Allied Powers during the country's Nazi era.
• Kuer Sena – named after Kunwar Singh.
• Lafayette Escadrille – named after Marquis de Lafayette
• Lafayette Flying Corps – named after Marquis de Lafayette.
• Légion Garibaldienne – named after Peppino Garibaldi.
• Legion of Saint Stephen – named after Saint Stephen.
• Legion of St. George – named after Saint George.
• Leon Czolgosz Autonomous and Destructive Forces – named after Leon Czolgosz, a Polish-American anarchist who assassinated President William McKinley of the United States.^[118]
• Leon Sedov Brigade – named after Leon Sedov, a Russian communist politician and the son of Leon Trotsky.
• Lincoln Battalion – named after Abraham Lincoln, the 6th president of the United States.
• Lorenzen Group – namesake of its leader Jørgen Lorenzen.^[119]
• Louise Michel battalions – named after 19th-century French anarcha-feminist Louise Michel.
• Lucetti Battalion – named after Italian anarchist revolutionary Gino Lucetti.
• Lützow Free Corps – namedsake of its commander Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm von Lützow.
• Mackenzie–Papineau Battalion – named after William Lyon Mackenzie and Louis-Joseph Papineau, two prominent Canadian political leaders of the 1837 Rebellion.
• Makhnovtsy – named after Nestor Makhno.
• Maletti Group – named after Pietro Maletti.
• Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front – named after Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza.
• Mariano Sánchez Añón Insurrectional Cell
• Maroto Column – named after its commander Francisco Maroto del Ojo.^[120][121]
• Martyr Abu Jaafar Brigade – named after Abu Jaafar, a regional commander of Hezbollah's Syrian branch who was killed by Israeli Defence Forces during the 2006 Lebanon War.^[122][123]
• Martyr Mashaal Tammo Brigade – named after Syrian Kurdish political activist and democratic opposition leader Mashaal Tammo who was extrajudicially assassinated by Syrian government forces via direct orders from Bashar al-Assad.^{[124][125][126]}
• Martyr Nubar Ozanyan Brigade – named after Turkish-born Armenian Maoist revolutionary Nubar Ozanyan.^[127]
• Mickiewicz Battalion – named after Adam Mickiewicz
• Movimiento Armado Quintin Lame – named after Quintín Lame.
• Mozart Group – named after 18th-century Austrian classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• Mu'tasim Division – named after al-Mu'tasim, the final caliph of the Abbasid dynasty.^[128]

• Naftali Botwin Company – named after Naftali Botwin.
• Noman Çelebicihan Battalion – named after Noman Çelebicihan.^[129]
• O'Brien's Regiment – named after Daniel O'Brien, 3rd Viscount Clare.
• Opera Nazionale Balilla – named after Genoese folk hero Giovan Battista "Balilla" Perasso.
• Osvald Group – named after the unit's founder and first commander Martin "Osvald" Hjelmen.
• OUN-B – named after the group's leader Stepan Bandera (the "B" in the title standing for "Bandera"), a far-right Ukrainian nationalist and collaborator with the Axis powers during WWII who campaigned for Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union.^{[130][131][132][133]}
• Palafox Battalion – named after José de Palafox y Melci, 1st Duke of Zaragoza.^[134][135]
• Panzer Division Clausewitz – named after Carl von Clausewitz.^[136]
• Panzer Division "Kempf" – named after its commander, Werner Kempf.^[137]
• Pavel Sudoplatov Battalion – named after senior Soviet intelligence officer Pavel Sudoplatov.^{[138][139][140]}
• Pećanac Chetniks – named after Kosta Pećanac.^[141]
• People's Militia named after Minin and Pozharsky – named after Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky.
• Peter group – named after the group's organizer Peter Schäfer (the nom de guerre of Otto Schwerdt).^[142]
• Práxedis G. Guerrero Autonomous Cells of Immediate Revolution
• Princess Irene Brigade – named after Princess Irene of the Netherlands.^[143][144]
• Puget Sound John Brown Gun Club – named after American abolitionist figure John Brown.^{[145][146][147]}
• Pyotr Alexeyev Resistance Movement – named after Russian revolutionary worker Pyotr Alexeyevich Alexeyev.
• Quantrill's Raiders named after its leader William Quantrill.
• Rafallah al-Sahati Brigade – named after Rafallah Sahati, a Libyan anti-Gaddafi rebel who was killed by Libyan Arab Jamahiriya forces in March 2011 during the First Libyan Civil War.^[148][149]
• Rákosi Battalion – named after Hungarian Communist politician Mátyás Rákosi who served as the country's de facto leader from 1947 to 1956.^[150]
• Ranvir Sena – named after Ranvir Baba.^[151][152]
• Regiment Carabiniers Prins Boudewijn – Grenadiers – named after Prince Baudouin of Belgium (Dutch: Prins Boudewijn van België).
• Regiment de Meuron – named after Charles-Daniel de Meuron.^{[153][154][155]}
• Régiment Royal-Louis – named after Louis XVI.^[156][157]
• Rodrigo Franco Command – named after Rodrigo Franco Montes de Peralta [es]
• Roll's Regiment – named after Louis de Roll.^[158][159]
• Rollkommando Hamann – named after its commander Joachim Hamann.^[160][161]
• Sacco-Vanzetti Battalion – named after Italian-American anarchist duo Nicola Sacco and Bart Vanzetti.
• Saint Patrick's Battalion – named after Saint Patrick.^[162][163]
• Sarsfield Grenadier Guards – named after Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan.
• Schutzmannschaft-Brigade Siegling – named after Hans Siegling.
• Severino di Giovanni Antipatriot Band named after Severino Di Giovanni.
• Sheikh Mansur Battalion – named after Chechen military commander Sheikh Mansur.
• Sheikh Omar Hadid Brigade – named after Umar Hadid, a prominent field commander during the Islamist occupation of Fallujah.^[164]
• Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Board – named after Simón Bolívar, a Venezuelan military officer who led a successful liberation campaign against the Imperial Spanish rule in the Viceroyalty of New Granada.
• Skala Battalion – named after Yuriy "Skala" Harkaviy.^[165]
• Sons of Zouari – named after Mohamed Zouari.
• SS Brigade Schuldt – named after Hinrich Schuldt.
• SS Panzer Brigade Gross – named after Martin Gross.
• SSNP – Abd al-Masih Wing – named after George Abd al-Masih.^[166][167]
• Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Brigade – named after Mehmed II.^[168]
• Sultan Murad Division – named after Murad IV.^[169]
• Sultan Pasha al-Atrash Battalion – named after Sultan al-Atrash, a prominent Syrian Druze independence activist who was one of the leading figures in the Great Syrian Revolt.^[170][171]
• Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade – named after Kayi tribe Bey (tribal chieftain) Suleyman Shah who was the reported grandfather of Ottoman empire founder Osman I.^{[172][173][174][175]}
• Szent László Infantry Division – named after Saint Ladislas. (Hungarian: Szent László).^[176]
• Taras Shevchenko Company – named after Taras Shevchenko.^[177]
• Tercio "Alejandro Farnesio" No. 4 of the Legion – named after 16th-century Italian duke Alejandro Farnesio.
• Tercio "Duque de Alba" No. 2 of the Legion – named after Duque de Alba.^[178][179]
• Tercio "Gran Capitán" No. 1 of the Legion – the group's name pays homage to Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba who went by the nickname "El Gran Capitán".
• Tercio "Juan de Austria" No. 3 of the Legion – named after Juan de Austria.
• Thälmann Battalion – named after Ernst Thälmann, a German communist politician and leader of the Communist Party of Germany.
• The Other Russia of E. V. Limonov – named after its founder Eduard Veniaminovich Limonov, a Russian National Bolshevik politician and countercultural author.^[180][181]
• Torres-Benedito Column – named after its commanding duo Domingo Torres and José Benedito Lleó.
• Tudor Vladimirescu Division – named after Romanian revolutionary hero Tudor Vladimirescu.
• Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement – named after Inca revolutionary leader Túpac Amaru II who had led a rebellion during the 1700s against the occupying Spanish Empire in Colonial Peru.
• Túpac Katari Guerrilla Army – named after Túpac Katari.^{[182][183][184]}

• Ukrainian interbrigade company Taras Shevchenko – named after 19th century Ukrainian poet and national hero Taras Shevchenko.^{[185][186][187]}
• Vandalika Teodoro Suárez Gang
• Vlasov Army – informally named after the unit's founder and commander Andrey Vlasov.^[188]
• Wagner Group – named after Richard Wagner, an influential 19th-century German opera composer.^{[189][190][191]}
• Zośka Battalion – named after Tadeusz "Zośka" Zawadzki, a World War II Polish resistance fighter and one of the most important personalities of the Polish Underground State.^[192]

• Eponym
• List of army units called "guards"
• List of ideologies named after people
• List of military corps by name
• List of places named after people
• List of sports terms named after people
• List of U.S. military vessels named after women