How do Elephants get their names?

Graham

Do you mean Proboscidea, or more like Dave?? Names are usually given to animals so they can be distinguished from other animals. Same as humans. The difference though, is that names are given to elephants by the people who keep them in captivity, not only to distinguish one animal from another, but also to help the person holding them in captivity to justify the animals imprisonment. If you meant the former, usually things are named based on either the family of that animal, or the first person who discovered/bred them.