i have asked this on other threads

You can rename ships if you're interested. If you aren't interested then the numbers really shouldn't bother you. The main reason they're there is to differentiate within the game.

The main problem would be on the trade window, if you tried to sell or give ships away. They'd all be the same, other than that, it wouldn't matter.

I kind of like the numbers, because the way it is setup it is the number inline with total number of ships built on the map. You can use that as some basic espionage when you have enemies you haven't met or can't see all their planets. You can estimate the amount of ships built by these AIs by the ones you are aware of. I realize this is very raw and inaccurate at times, but it is nice to have when you don't have anything else. Of course it all goes out the window when they start getting destroyed in wars, but early on it can give you an idea if someones pumping out a lot of ships you can't see.