USS Jimmy Carter was named after the former President because Jimmy Carter was himself a submarine officer, and during his Navy service used his nuclear training to assist in the cleanup and recovery of a nuclear accident in Canada.
He considered his time as a nuclear submarine officer so formative that a question to him from the Admiral in charge of Naval Reactors, Hyman Rickover, formed the title of his book "Why Not the Best?" [1]
President Carter was well-aware that the submarine was named after him and why, and stated himself how proud he was to have a submarine named after him. [2] Not just a submarine either; the Seawolf class is still among the most capable ever built by the U.S., and the Jimmy Carter (with her "special projects" upgrades) is the most capable of the entire class.
He considered his time as a nuclear submarine officer so formative that a question to him from the Admiral in charge of Naval Reactors, Hyman Rickover, formed the title of his book "Why Not the Best?" [1]
President Carter was well-aware that the submarine was named after him and why, and stated himself how proud he was to have a submarine named after him. [2] Not just a submarine either; the Seawolf class is still among the most capable ever built by the U.S., and the Jimmy Carter (with her "special projects" upgrades) is the most capable of the entire class.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Why-not-best-Jimmy-Carter/dp/08054558... [2] https://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/04/27/carter.sub/