>While researching this, I found that I can't find a way to name stuff in Word *without* using external automation....hmmm

I've noticed that, too! The thought that jumped to mind was to change the names in the document template using Automation, then distribute the document for everyone to fill in.

FWIW, the same thing happens with Shapes in PowerPoint and Excel. I wish I knew how to let interactive users add a shape name in some sort of dropdown. It'd open up some cool possibilities. Automation aside, I guess there just isn't much of a need for a user to name a shape <s>.

- della