The name Titanic derives from the Titans of Greek mythology.

Built in Belfast, Ireland, in the United

Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, RMS Titanic was the second of the three Olympic-class ocean
liners—the first was RMS Olympic and the third was HMHS Britannic.[7] Britannic was originally to
be called Gigantic and was to be over 1,000 feet (300 m) long.[8] They were by far the largest vessels
of the British shipping company White Star Line's fleet, which comprised 29 steamers and tenders in
1912.[9] The three ships had their genesis in a discussion in mid-1907 between the White Star Line's
chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, and the American financier J. P. Morgan, who controlled the White Star
Line's parent corporation, the International Mercantile Marine Co. (IMM).

The White Star Line faced an increasing challenge from its main rivals Cunard, which had recently
launched Lusitania and Mauretania—the fastest passenger ships then in service—and the German
lines Hamburg America and Norddeutscher Lloyd. Ismay preferred to compete on size rather than
speed and proposed to commission a new class of liners that would be larger than anything that had
gone before as well as being the last word in comfort and luxury.[10] The company sought an
upgrade in their fleet primarily in response to the Cunard giants but also to replace their oldest pair
of passenger ships still in service, being RMS Teutonic of 1889 and RMS Majestic of 1890. Teutonic
was replaced by Olympic while Majestic was replaced by Titanic. Majestic would be brought back
into her old spot on White Star Line's New York service after Titanic's loss.[11]

The ships were constructed by the Belfast shipbuilders Harland and Wolff, who had a long-
established relationship with the White Star Line dating back to 1867.[12] Harland and Wolff were
given a great deal of latitude in designing ships for the White Star Line; the usual approach was for
the latter to sketch out a general concept which the former would take away and turn into a ship
design. Cost considerations were relatively low on the agenda and Harland and Wolff was authorised
to spend what it needed on the ships, plus a five percent profit margin.[12] In the case of the
Olympic-class ships, a cost of £3 million (approximately £310 million in 2019) for the first two ships
was agreed plus "extras to contract" and the usual five percent fee.[13]