I'm inclined to agree with Ben there. I've always took the IFF as something the ship is broadcasting, which is why on occasion it malfunctions and shows the wrong thing (ie, they're repfixing, etc).
Name seems like something that's also broadcast. All ships seem to use the same style navigation system, so it may be a part of that. Or related to the autopilot; Ships broadcast name and location for a certain range so that other navigational systems can make sure to not crash into them (in theory).
![[Image: 4986_s.gif]](http://signavatar.com/4986_s.gif)