I think the weird naming results from the way the guitar is often played which is really a combination of chords and notes. For example: if I am playing an A chord and happen to be moving to a D chord I might get there by playing the notes B and C# on the fifth string as a run to the D chord while I still play the A chord underneath. (If I were playing with a bass player I might leave the run out.) The combination of notes thus created can have a chord name but are they really a chord in this case? I think it's a matter of point of view. To indicate what is intended the music may have a 'chord' diagram (really a fingering diagram?). This graphic is calling out for a name and thus we get the situation that prompted this thread.