Answer:
Names. Ah yes, the human configuration. Human names, animal names, company names, vehicle names, building names, it's all one of the sort. That's how you identify your target. That's how you tell one person from another verbally.
The function it plays is identification and separation. Names are one of the most important things these days. You have it on your license, your receipt, your credit card, your homework paper, your email, almost everything you need a name for. If you were in a movie theatre line, or a restaurant line, and you had a reserved ticket or seat, they would either identify you by your ticket number/table number or your name.
This is the same situation with companies, vehicles and animals. How do you tell a lion and tiger apart without seeing both right next to each other? You verbally tell them apart by their names. If one is called a "tiger", and one is called a "lion", then they must not be the same, not sharing the same name. But, that's the species name. You can give them an actual name that identifies them from "dog" or "cat". You can give them human names, like Rocky, John, or even more animal-styled names, like Buddy, Lucky, Tucker, Spencer, and so on.
Now, how do you tell companies apart? "I'm gonna go shop at the building with the W, A, L, M, A, R, T letters on the front instead of the buildings with the D, O, L, L, A, R, S, T, O, R, E letters!" No. You say, "I'm gonna go to Walmart instead of the Dollar Store," right? That's the only right way to say it. To distinct one thing by itself, you need a name for it. Instead of saying, "I'm gonna play the shooting game instead of the other shooting game," you'll say, "I'm gonna play COD instead of Battlefield," right? The first way just sounds weird.