To answer the question: No, I don't name my guns. I dunno if I'm repeating this story here or not, but here goes....
My maternal grandfather kept a .410 single-shot shottie along with some loose shells in a drawer in their kitchen. It was on a pistol grip, and the whole thing couldn't have been more than 14" long. Occassionally, a very arthritic great-uncle would keep it with him in the truck while everyone else went pheasant hunting, but primarily it was a HD gun. And it was named "Little Brother". My grandfather would tell my grandmother "Honey, if some ni**er comes in the back door, you just grab 'Little Brother' and let him have it." [Please, no flames. These are his words, not mine. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has ancestors who thought differently than we do today.]
So 'Little Brother' passes to my Mom and Dad, although by then it was in a very nice oak case lined with deerskin. My Dad makes a call one day from a pay phone to the ATF, asking about the legality of this kind of gun, and they tell him something to the effect of "Sure...Bring it in and we'll look at it." Dad's no idiot, so it never went into the ATF, or anyone else.
Mom and Dad divorce, and the gun (rightfully) goes to Mom. Mom got a little nutty, IMO, after the divorce. She did end up in a relationship with a fairly nice guy, but her nuttiness, especially when dealing with my kids, began to become a sore point. After she had 6 burglaries in about as many months (she'd been staying at her beau's house alot), she sold her house, sold off most of her stuff, and moved in with her beau.
And she
gave away 'Little Brother'.
I spoke to her about it, and acknowledged the differences we were having, but asked that she find a way to get 'Little Brother' back into the family. I was obviously interested, and my only sibling has no interest in firearms, but Mom has a brother who's kids might appreciate something from their grandfather. As I saw it (and still do) 'Little Brother' was the
definition of a family heirloom, and it deserved to stay in the family somewhere. Now it is gone forever.
Mom and I have been completely estranged for a number of years now--lots of reasons. I don't miss her looniness a bit, and the crap she gave Mrs. AZLib was unforgivable. But the loss of 'Little Brother' still hurts.