You may be right, Bluster. I was told it was character ID but it could be based on character name and realm, plus the Account ID. I doubt it is just character name and realm by itself. I’ve sent up some inquiries.
Unfortunately, trying to follow your race, name, faction, transfers, appearance changes and character delete/undelete is more than a little dizzying. I think to fully understand it I’d need a white board with a complicated diagram to follow.
Tiridan, my original answer and how we understood the current system might be wrong. I’ve made some inquiries but it is possible that your trust levels might be lost with the name change. Sorry for the frustration this might cause.