Who does pick these names?Boy, that's a good question. I remember eight years ago (Iraqi invasion) when the name of the operation had to be changed because the initials of the original name were OIL. I think the original name was Operation Iraqi Liberation or something similar.
You misremember. It was Operation Infinite Justice, which was objected to on the basis that only God ( Allah ) could dispense such. I assumed the real objection was that it was a counterpoint to Islamic Jihad. It was changed to
Operation Enduring Freedom, which I thought was a ploy to retain the a hint of the same meaning in the consecutive initial letters, EF vs. IJ .