What's in a Name?

In 1996 Value Jet's flight 592 crashed in the alligator infested Everglades.

Value Jet was a low cost carrier and the plane crashed because some poorly secured oxygen tanks in the cargo hold got loose and caused a fire. The crash is famous because the confusion, panic and horrible suffering of the crew and passengers was there on tape for all to witness.

Shortly thereafter Value Jet changed their name to Air Tran; cheap fares or not I will never fly Air Tran. That name change meant something to people like me who knew why, and nothing at all to those with no knowledge of flight 592.

When Malcolm Little changed his name to Malcolm X, he was making a powerful statement about what it meant to be black in America.

Back in the days when an ethnic name was considered a disadvantage, many people changed their names just to survive.

In the last 10 years, my bank has changed its name four times; Burma is Myanmar and Ceylon is Sri Lanka.

I no longer can distinguish the good reasons for a name change from the bad ones, well maybe most of the time.

I am one of those people who will never fly Air Tran and I will never call the Breeders Cup Distaff the Ladies Classic.

What did Personal Ensign, Bayakoa, Lady's Secret and Azeri do that was so wrong?