Changing PC Names on Network

My question is probably remedial but i’ll ask it anyway. I’ve just taken over as the LAN admin at my company and am wondering if it is ok to change the names asigned to workstations. For instance, some are named for people who are no longer with thecompany. Others are named things like Compaq-QH49EFKSL3243. Of course, this is what the server recognizes them as, so if I change them individually, will this confuse the server or will it adjust. We are running Windows 2000. Thanks for any help! ~Brian