Now that I'm retired I have more time to think about really meaningless stuff. One of the really meaningless things I've wondered about is the names on the jerseys of players who are namesakes. Players are often identified as "Jr." or "III" with their names, such as "Thatch, Jr." on the St. Louis Billikens b-ball team. Is that grammatically correct (or is it even a question of something other than grammar)? I think the "Jr." or "III" should be tied to the first name, not the last. For example, DWIII is the third person named Dwight in his family, not the third person named Wilson. So having a suffix on the jersey would seem to be grammatically (or whatever) incorrect.
Just something to ponder on a snowy evening in Ohio.
I wasn’t an English major, nor am I an expert on grammar, but I think your thoughts about questioning these name usages are “spot on”. The one “out” for presenting names in this way that I can think of is that perhaps the presentation of their name is influenced by their local history/connections, how they were differentiated from parents, grandparents, etc. when they were young, and, they carried it forward as they grew older.