We can make an impact, confirmed in the Congressional Research Service's Report on Ship Naming! See full report here: (https://news.usni.org/2024/07/19/report-to-congress-on-u-s-navy-ship-names-23

Public’s Role in Naming Ships
Members of the public are sometimes interested in having Navy ships named for their own states or cities, for earlier U.S. Navy ships (particularly those on which they or their relatives served), for battles in which they or their relatives participated, or for people they admire. Citizens with such an interest sometimes contact the Navy, DOD, or Congress seeking support for their proposals. An October 2008 news report, for example, suggested that a letter-writing campaign by New Hampshire elementary school students that began in January 2004 was instrumental in the Navy’s decision in August 2004 to name a Virginia-class submarine after the state. The July 2012 Navy report to Congress states the following:

• In addition to receiving input and recommendations from the President and Congress, every Secretary of the Navy receives numerous requests from servicemembers, citizens, interest groups, or individual members of Congress who want to name a ship in honor of a particular hometown, or State, or place, or hero, or famous ship. This means the “nomination” process is often fiercely contested as differing groups make the case that “their” ship name is the most fitting choice for a Secretary to make.
• Members of the public may also express their opposition to an announced naming decision. The July 2012 Navy report to Congress cites and discusses five recent examples of ship-naming decisions that were criticized by some observers: the destroyer DDG-1002 (named for President Lyndon Johnson), the Littoral Combat Ship LCS-10 (named for former Representative Gabrielle Giffords), the amphibious ship LPD-26 (named for late Representative John P. Murtha), the auxiliary ship TAKE-13 (named for Medgar Evers), and the auxiliary ship TAKE-14 (named for
  Cesar Chavez).