Can you name a star?
Many companies and non-profit organizations offer the chance to "name a star" for a fee. Here's the bad news: These "name a star" schemes do not give you any kind of official naming rights. The only organization that has any authority to name celestial bodies is the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and they don't give out naming rights for money.
Star-naming companies usually promote their "dedicated database" or something similar, and make a big deal about how you'll be the only one with naming rights to the star you get. However this really means they've just made up their own unofficial list of names and you'll get exclusive naming rights within that list. Literally no-one else in the world recognizes their database and your "exclusive rights" are essentially worthless. It would be cheaper to just pick a random star and make your own certificate.
If you look closely at the terms and conditions of companies offering to name a star, you'll usually find a disclaimer that says their names have no official recognition. It's usually well-hidden though, and worded in such a way that it's not obvious. In recent times, some organisations have dropped the "naming" part of the product, instead going for ambiguous terms such as "Buy a star", "Adopt a star", "Register a star", etc.
It's worth noting that some star-naming schemes are set up as fund-raisers for worthy causes. Some will make a reasonable attempt to explain that it's not official, but most tend to phrase their descriptions in such a way as to be easily misinterpreted.
At Te Awamutu Space Centre, we deal with a lot of people who buy stars from reputable organisations under the belief that their name will have official status. We try to be diplomatic but we're often forced into explaining the whole situation. It's always difficult, occasionally heartbreaking, especially when the star name is a deceased relative.
Bottom line: Please don't encourage the star-naming industry. It's hurting people. Sorry the news isn't better but that's the reality.