[astanway]

Saul Kripke built an entire career on what exactly names are, as covered in Naming and Necessity (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_and_Necessity), building on earlier work by Frege (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_and_reference). OP touches on some concepts they cover - it's definitely worth reading these two if you are interested in the philosophy behind names!