How about naming MSL after astronomers who made important contributions to the study of Mars
Like Schiaparelli, Hall, Flammarion, Antoniadi, and Lowell, to name just a few.
More can be found here:
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/mars/contents.htm
This will not only give them credit where it is due but raise their aware in the public
eye and educate a few folks in the process, which is part of NASA's charter, to
education the public on space.
But please, no more corny, PC names that sound dramatic but mean little or nothing
to the actual mission.
Of course NASA will do just that, but I thought I'd say something anyway.