I dislike CouchDB too for many of the same reasons, but when selling it to clients, I first point out that I know the db is not winning marketing awards and then go into why it's awesome and the proper solution.
I'll have to do this for CockroachDB too, but it's quite a bit worse than CouchDB IMO.
Calling a product a "mouse" must have seemed like a strange decision at the time. Now we don't think twice about it. My point is that people get accustomed to things over time.
While I don't care about the cockroach name, I think RoachDB would be a suitable "change" if they have to.
Maybe _you_ don't think mice are gross, but maybe you're not a representative sample.
I never got the impression that mice are seen as gross.
Mice also chew holes in walls, cupboards, pipes, and wiring, sometimes to disastrous effect (e.g. house fire [2]).
You can pretend to be all macho and unconcerned by mice, but the fact is, they're awful disease-carrying rodents, and you ought to avoid them and get rid of them if they're in your house.
[1] http://pestcontrol.about.com/od/diyrodentcontrol/a/Rats-And-...
Of course, if the majority of people would see an actual mouse on their cupboard they would not be so happy - me included.
Of course, literally the first time I ever saw a cockroach was when I visited New York a few years ago. I was riding the escalator down to the subway and the cockroach was riding the up escalator next to me! Off to its next great adventure, I'm sure.