For development, I always name my VPS' the way I want to and just set up DNS for client sandboxes (i.e., "beta.myclient.com" points to my VPS, where there is a virtual host ready to serve up the dev site). For me it just keeps things cleaner in my head. My VPS is my VPS, and if the client sites should need to move around for whatever reason, it's all done within DNS.
I suppose if the client/project is big enough to warrant its own Linode, then A. congratulations, and B. sure, why not...name it after 'em.
