What is the name of the first aircraft carrier designed from the keel up?

The first aircraft carrier designed from the keel up is the CV-4 USS Ranger. This distinction is important as previous carriers were converted from existing ships, adapting them to include hangars and flight decks. USS Ranger, launched in 1934, was specifically engineered as a naval aircraft carrier right from the initial design phase, which means it was built with the unique structural and operational requirements of a carrier in mind.

This includes features such as its flight deck, hangar size, and the ability to launch and recover aircraft effectively, making it a pioneer in naval aviation. Other vessels listed, such as USS Enterprise and USS Nimitz, while significant in their contributions to naval warfare, were not the first to be constructed specifically as aircraft carriers from the beginning.