Trivia: The publishing house where Bridget works is called "Pemberley Press". For those who haven't read or seen "Pride And Prejudice", this is also the name of Mr. Darcy's estate.
Trivia: Shirley Henderson is the same actress who plays Moaning Myrtle in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." An interesting tidbit: Moaning Myrtle is always crying and putting on theatrics, and Jude (in this movie)..."spends most of her time trapped in the ladies' toilet crying..."
Trivia: When Mark Darcy returns from America in order to kiss Bridget, she asks him: "So you're not going to America then?" and he says "So it would seem." Incidentally that is also the last line of the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, which also starred Colin Firth. Helen Fielding, the author, openly admits that she got her inspiration for the story from Pride and Prejudice. It was written for TV by the same bloke, Andrew Davies, who helped write the screenplay for Bridget Jones's Diary.
Trivia: Other similarities between Pride and Prejudice and this movie include the fact that in P&P, Mr. Darcy and George Wickam both went to Cambridge. In Bridget Jones, Daniel Cleaver says he knew Mark from Cambridge. Cleaver's character is based on George Wickam.
Trivia: Other Pride and Prejudice similarities (intentional, but worth pointing out): Colin Firth not only starred in Pride and Prejudice, but he also played a snobby guy that the heroine doesn't like at first, but slowly grows fond of. That other character's name: Mr. Darcy.
Trivia: Renee Zellweger has never been a smoker, only having smoked once to try it in her life, herbal cigarettes were used to portray Bridget's chain smoking.
Answer: Lots of times in book-to-movie situations and even in some remakes, the producers/writers/directors change names or events. It can be because of personal issues, legal ones or it can even be spur of the moment. it can also be unintentional,when they change it without the specific INTENTION to change it. I think in this case it was more likely that the character/or their name didn't have too much of an impact on the story line, so they didn't feel a pressing need to keep it the same.