Actually, Ness is named for the Scottish lake. You know, the one that’s supposed to have the giant fish lizard in it. Jay’s name is completely random, and Max is named for Max Quordlepleen, the host at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy¹ books.²

¹ Or Hitch-Hiker’s Guide or Hitch Hiker’s Guide, depending on your proximity to a small chain of European islands who can’t decide how to speak the language they invented. Or so I’ve been told.
² Actually, he only really shows up in the second book, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, but I already said that once in that sentence.
³ One could argue that I go out of my way to use footnotes when talking about the Guide.