Doublecheck your steps. This works:
>>> n = getNode('MRH*')
>>> n.GetName()
'MRHead'
>>> n.SetName('hoot')
>>> n.GetName()
'hoot'
Doublecheck your steps. This works:
>>> n = getNode('MRH*')
>>> n.GetName()
'MRHead'
>>> n.SetName('hoot')
>>> n.GetName()
'hoot'