Rename a Linux Network Interface

create the following file with the following content in /etc/network/if-pre-up.d/nameif

#!/bin/sh
if [ -n "$IF_MAC" ]
then
nameif $IFACE $IF_MAC
fi

then create your /etc/network/interfaces such as the following:

# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system
# and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5).

# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# The primary network interface
auto wan
iface wan inet dhcp
mac 00:0F:EA:5D:AE:ED

auto lan 
iface lan inet static
mac 00:40:F4:60:5A:4C
address 10.0.0.1
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 10.0.0.1
broadcast 10.0.0.255