Why does name matter?

One day, a disciple asked Confucius: "If a king were to entrust you with a territory which you could govern according to your ideas, what would you do first?"

Confucius replied: "My first task would certainly be to rectify the names."

The puzzled disciple asked: "Rectify the names?…Is this a joke?"

Confucius replied: "If the names are not correct, if they do not match realities, language has no object. If language is without an object, action becomes impossible - and therefore all human affairs disintegrate and their management becomes pointless and impossible. Hence, the very first task of a true statesman is to rectify the names."

Source: Permanent Committee on Geographical Names, UK