In the above link, Will talks of the "you shouldn't rename a boat" tradition that I had been so indoctrinated with here in the US.
However, when I bought my first boat in the Basque region, it was explained that I in fact should change the boats name! Name changing was to give the boat new life with the new owner. But it also was not mandatory, only strongly suggested.
Now, as the Basque are some of the world's best and historically some of the oldest sailors in the world, I take that as a serious twist to the old adage that you shouldn't change a boats name. Although for sure if you perform such an excercise, one should do it correctly!
Do bear in mind the first person to sail around the world was a Basque from the village of Guetaria named Juan Sebastian Elcano. (Funny how US schools all taught us it was Magellan, but in the same breath they told us he was killed in the Philippines so he couldn't have been the first to circumnavigate the world could he?)
Just some food for thought....
dj