Who "really, really" likes the name Xbox 360, or Playstation Vita, though? Game console names are pretty dumb across the board if you really think about it.
The Atari Jaguar and Sega Dreamcast had cool names. It seems like the consoles with the coolest names always do the worst, and the ones with the crappiest names sell the best.
Anyway, the name may be final, but I at least hope they change the appearance of the console to look a lot less like the Wii than the prototype they showed off at E3 last year. If their intention is to confuse people then that design was perfect, but if they want people to think the Wii U is more than just a Wii revision then something different is needed.
As for the Wii U name, yeah it sucks... but that's what stickers are for. Just slap a sticker over the Wii U logo and your console can become anything you want it to be. The only limit is your imagination (and the stickers you have).
I am going to have to side with Caterkiller and Oblivion on the name. I really like the name. Also Insanolord has a point with the name. A cool sounding console name isn't going to change peoples minds if it does then well they need to get their priorities straight. Games are what matter for consoles.
Games are what matter for consoles, but do you know what matters for games? Market share. You don't want to give anyone a reason (no matter how stupid) to avoid your product. Maybe to you the name doesn't matter and maybe you think those people who it does matter to are stupid, but here is the thing: if they aren't buying the console then the success of that console is impacted, and like it or not this in turn effects you because it effects what third party support there will be.
The best example I can think of is the TV series Firefly which I really loved, but a lot of people never even gave it a chance because its a hybrid between science fiction and a western, so it tended to alienate both markets and both avoided. So the series ended up being cancelled and I suffered because of that.
It was stupid that people didn't give Firefly a chance, but it still effected me. And that's why I'm using that as an example of the Wii U and its name. If the console bombs because people don't give it a chance then it will effect you. Maybe the reason they won't give the console a chance is stupid, but stupid or not it will be a bad thing for you, me, all the Nintendo fans, and of course Nintendo themselves.
You say games are what matters and with that I heartily agree with you, but a stupid name like "Wii U" can have an adverse effect on that... so yes, the name does matter, because games are what matters, and you don't want to give people even trivial reasons to avoid your console because less market share means less games.