I just heard an advertisement on the radio the other day for one of those companies that will register a star in your name, or a loved ones name, for a fee. A quick web search turns up several companies that offer this questionable practice. It's hard to believe that these companies are still going strong after all that has been written and said about them, but they must be making money if they can afford to advertise on radio in the major media market where I live. In case you aren't familiar with how it works, you send these companies money (typically between $30-60), and they promise to name a star in your name, and register it in their database. You usually get a fancy looking certificate with your name on it and some flowery language proclaiming how this one particular star is named after you and you alone. They also throw in a sky chart with a part of the night sky that shows where "your" star is located, but you might as well look at a black wall, because you are probably not going to be able to see "your" star with the naked eye. For extra money, they will put your certificate in a fancy frame, or sell you their registry, which is just a book they publish that lists all the names of people that have "named" a star through their program. Though there is nothing illegal about this star naming business, just realize that none of these companies and their "registries" are recognized by any legitimate astronomers, professional or amateur. The fact is, the only organization in the world with the authority to name stars is the International Astronomical Union, and they don't really assign names to stars, they instead use an alpha-numeric code to identify the stars location and brightness. If you want to read the IAU's take on star registry companies, it is clearly stated on their web site.

So if you still want to give your money to these companies, understand that what you are getting is nothing more than a novelty, with no official standing in legitimate astronomical circles. I could just as easily offer you the service of naming a particular tree in the woods after you, and then sell you a certificate proclaiming the tree as dedicated to only you. If you really want to get someone interested in astronomy and space, you'd be better off giving them a good, basic astronomy book, or one of the astronomy software packages that are great for learning about the night sky on a computer.