There's a secondary reason why it's lovingly referred to as a Hoover.

The ducted fan TF-34's are located very close to the deck. At full
power, they will suck just about any FOD into the duct. Just like a
vacuum cleaner.

However, the nickname came from the sound of the TF-34's on startup.
Regards,

On Fri, 01 Dec 2006 19:57:19 -0800, Will Deatrick
wrote:

Because the unique sound made by the engines resembles a Hoover vacuum
cleaner to some. My wife and I were walking the beach near the Hotel
Del in 1998 when a Viking flew overhead on approach to NAS North
Island, San Diego. You can hear the strange sound in this video. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FRJfBW_GQI