Live on a ship, i.e. the Elizabeth (6)

I believe the answer is:

bessie

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'elizabeth' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I don't see?

'live on a ship i e' is the wordplay.
'live' becomes 'be' (synonyms).
'on' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a ship' becomes 'SS' (prefix in ship names eg SS Great Britain).
'be'+'ss'+'i'+'e'='BESSIE'

'the' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for bessie that I've seen is " - Smith, blues singer".)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Independent.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app