I'm not a big name change guy. I like older, vintage boats and they usually come with a story and a soul.
That said, when we purchased our 1970 Willard 36, the previous owners made the mistake of allowing their 11-year old daughter name the boat. Somehow, I could not imagine going through boating life with VHF hailing "Shy Platypus standing by one-six. 'Sierra-hotel-Yankee.....'". So we renamed her "Weebles," after the children's toy which seemed appropriate for a displacement hull ("Weebles wobble but they don't fall down")
A year later, I met the owner of Willard who was in his 70s at the time. He remembered my boat well - a friend of his had the boat built and he uses to join the boat owner on fishing trips out of Newport Beach. He was so impressed with the boat that he bought Willard Marine in the early 1970s. I guess the boat was locally well known as the owner belonged to the Newport Beach yacht club and served as committee boat on their annual Newport to Ensenada sailboat race. So I have a small plaque and a 20-foot long pennant that would be flown from the mast head.
As you can see from the 1970 pictured attached, she was originally launched as Taras, some sort of Greek God. Had I known her rich history and the soul of the boat, would have renamed her back to the original Taras. I guess VHF use is waning, but I'm still partial to short names.
I still like the name Weebles and will keep it. But underneath, I continue to pause and honor her lineage and original name. No superstition here, just recognition that boats have history and provenance and are the product of passion and dreams that are enriched over time.
Chose wisely. Cutesy names are cute for about a month. That said, my favorite cutesy name is "Never Again II."