This kind of naming and these sorts of symbols drive more people away from mathematics than teachers who tell you you’re wrong because they say so. We are perfectly happy to think of someone as James Smith or even James Topaz Smith, and if his son is James Topaz Smith Junior we take that easily in stride. Should the son become a Doctor or even the Right Reverend Doctor James Topaz Smith Junior we may smile, but can handle it. Yet attach a pair of numbers to a letter and we beg for mercy.
