My kids wanted to name it Johnny, but I vetoed that ...too stereotypical. I'd only name it that if it was made from 1918 through 1960 2 cylinder model and it's full name could be Johnny Popper.
I told them it's name was Tug.
...but never called it anything other than "The Tractor".
...regarding not naming them because "It anthropomorphizes them...and then subsconsciously you think they care about not running over you or busting through a wall and chopping your leg off. They are humor-less pieces of metal that would feel the same about dismembering your family dog as they would running over a stump." Hmmm... interesting point...but we also name bulls and stallions and the neighbors dog who would do the same.
IMHO, I think we can name them, anthropomorphizes them even, but the same as "people" who are our friends and fine 99% of the time, they can still be cold blooded psychopathic killers.