I don't think this is really all that ambiguous. The 'thing' being the intent of the original author. Renaming Tina to Terra makes perfect sense in the context you mentioned. Renaming 'Sacred Alcohol of Stamina' to 'Van Buren Coffee' is a complete butchery of a translation done for somebody to be able to show how witty they are by adding a reference that basically nobody will get, and is still a butchery even when you know the reference.