diff --git a/src/Stats.cc b/src/Stats.cc
index 27b433c9ee..f418e9cccc 100644
--- a/src/Stats.cc
+++ b/src/Stats.cc
@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ void ProfileLogger::Log()
 	      i != thread_stats.end(); ++i ) 
 		{
 		threading::MsgThread::Stats s = i->second;
-		file->Write(fmt("%0.6f   %-15s in=%" PRIu64 " out=%" PRIu64 " pending=%" PRIu64 "/%" PRIu64 "\n",
+		file->Write(fmt("%0.6f   %-25s in=%" PRIu64 " out=%" PRIu64 " pending=%" PRIu64 "/%" PRIu64 "\n",
 			    network_time,
 			    i->first.c_str(),
 			    s.sent_in, s.sent_out,
diff --git a/src/logging/Manager.cc b/src/logging/Manager.cc
index 63d4c60a5c..6d53ea363f 100644
--- a/src/logging/Manager.cc
+++ b/src/logging/Manager.cc
@@ -480,6 +480,8 @@ WriterBackend* Manager::CreateBackend(WriterFrontend* frontend, bro_int_t type)
 
 	WriterBackend* backend = (*ld->factory)(frontend);
 	assert(backend);
+
+	frontend->ty_name = ld->name;
 	return backend;
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/logging/WriterBackend.cc b/src/logging/WriterBackend.cc
index fe3a6ef560..4d2e497b14 100644
--- a/src/logging/WriterBackend.cc
+++ b/src/logging/WriterBackend.cc
@@ -55,13 +55,15 @@ public:
 
 using namespace logging;
 
-WriterBackend::WriterBackend(WriterFrontend* arg_frontend, const string& name) : MsgThread(name)
+WriterBackend::WriterBackend(WriterFrontend* arg_frontend) : MsgThread()
 	{
 	path = "<not set>";
 	num_fields = 0;
 	fields = 0;
 	buffering = true;
 	frontend = arg_frontend;
+
+	SetName(frontend->Name());
 	}
 
 WriterBackend::~WriterBackend()
@@ -107,6 +109,8 @@ bool WriterBackend::Init(string arg_path, int arg_num_fields, const Field* const
 	num_fields = arg_num_fields;
 	fields = arg_fields;
 
+	SetName(frontend->Name());
+
 	if ( ! DoInit(arg_path, arg_num_fields, arg_fields) )
 		{
 		DisableFrontend();
diff --git a/src/logging/WriterBackend.h b/src/logging/WriterBackend.h
index 21dcd41ff7..33271e43f9 100644
--- a/src/logging/WriterBackend.h
+++ b/src/logging/WriterBackend.h
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ public:
 	 * @param name A descriptive name for writer's type (e.g., \c Ascii).
 	 *
 	 */
-	WriterBackend(WriterFrontend* frontend, const string& name);
+	WriterBackend(WriterFrontend* frontend);
 
 	/**
 	 * Destructor.
diff --git a/src/logging/WriterFrontend.cc b/src/logging/WriterFrontend.cc
index 79c180b749..79278870f9 100644
--- a/src/logging/WriterFrontend.cc
+++ b/src/logging/WriterFrontend.cc
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@ WriterFrontend::WriterFrontend(bro_int_t type)
 	buf = true;
 	write_buffer = 0;
 	write_buffer_pos = 0;
+	ty_name = "<not set>";
 	backend = log_mgr->CreateBackend(this, type);
 
 	assert(backend);
@@ -109,6 +110,14 @@ WriterFrontend::~WriterFrontend()
 	{
 	}
 
+string WriterFrontend::Name() const
+	{
+	if ( path.size() )
+		return ty_name;
+
+	return ty_name + "/" + path;
+	}
+
 void WriterFrontend::Stop()
 	{
 	FlushWriteBuffer();
diff --git a/src/logging/WriterFrontend.h b/src/logging/WriterFrontend.h
index 6f1bb4ea1b..e0bc590dfc 100644
--- a/src/logging/WriterFrontend.h
+++ b/src/logging/WriterFrontend.h
@@ -30,6 +30,9 @@ public:
 	 * frontend will internally instantiate a WriterBackend of the
 	 * corresponding type.
 	 *
+	 * name: A descriptive name for the backend wroter type (e.g., \c
+	 * Ascii).
+	 *
 	 * Frontends must only be instantiated by the main thread.
 	 */
 	WriterFrontend(bro_int_t type);
@@ -171,6 +174,14 @@ public:
 	 */
 	int NumFields() const	{ return num_fields; }
 
+	/**
+	 * Returns a descriptive name for the writer, including the type of
+	 * the backend and the path used.
+	 *
+	 * This method is safe to call from any thread.
+	 */
+	string Name() const;
+
 	/**
 	 * Returns the log fields as passed into the constructor.
 	 */
@@ -184,6 +195,7 @@ protected:
 	bool initialized;	// True if initialized.
 	bool buf;	// True if buffering is enabled (default).
 
+	string ty_name;	// Name of the backend type. Set by the manager.
 	string path;	// The log path.
 	int num_fields;	// The number of log fields.
 	const Field* const*  fields;	// The log fields.
diff --git a/src/logging/writers/Ascii.cc b/src/logging/writers/Ascii.cc
index 0e522dde1d..7cc8459e68 100644
--- a/src/logging/writers/Ascii.cc
+++ b/src/logging/writers/Ascii.cc
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 using namespace logging;
 using namespace writer;
 
-Ascii::Ascii(WriterFrontend* frontend) : WriterBackend(frontend, "Ascii")
+Ascii::Ascii(WriterFrontend* frontend) : WriterBackend(frontend)
 	{
 	file = 0;
 
diff --git a/src/logging/writers/None.h b/src/logging/writers/None.h
index 19dc685ecb..6a62161f49 100644
--- a/src/logging/writers/None.h
+++ b/src/logging/writers/None.h
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ namespace logging { namespace writer {
 
 class None : public WriterBackend {
 public:
-	None(WriterFrontend* frontend) : WriterBackend(frontend, "None")	{}
+	None(WriterFrontend* frontend) : WriterBackend(frontend)	{}
 	~None()	{};
 
 	static WriterBackend* Instantiate(WriterFrontend* frontend)
diff --git a/src/threading/BasicThread.cc b/src/threading/BasicThread.cc
index 73dc562b31..4d51c3c4e4 100644
--- a/src/threading/BasicThread.cc
+++ b/src/threading/BasicThread.cc
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ using namespace threading;
 
 uint64_t BasicThread::thread_counter = 0;
 
-BasicThread::BasicThread(const string& arg_name)
+BasicThread::BasicThread()
 	{
 	started = false;
 	terminating = false;
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ BasicThread::BasicThread(const string& arg_name)
 	buf = 0;
 	buf_len = 1024;
 
-	name = Fmt("%s@%d", arg_name.c_str(), ++thread_counter);
+	name = Fmt("thread-%d", ++thread_counter);
 
 	thread_mgr->AddThread(this);
 	}
@@ -27,6 +27,27 @@ BasicThread::~BasicThread()
 	{
 	}
 
+void BasicThread::SetName(const string& arg_name)
+	{
+	// Slight race condition here with reader threads, but shouldn't matter.
+	name = arg_name;
+	}
+
+void BasicThread::SetOSName(const string& name)
+	{
+#ifdef LINUX
+	pthread_setname_np(pthread_self(), name.c_str());
+#endif
+
+#ifdef __APPLE__
+	pthread_setname_np(name.c_str());
+#endif
+
+#ifdef FREEBSD
+	pthread_set_name_np(pthread_self(), name, name.c_str());
+#endif
+	}
+
 const char* BasicThread::Fmt(const char* format, ...)
 	{
 	if ( ! buf )
diff --git a/src/threading/BasicThread.h b/src/threading/BasicThread.h
index aeafc61c52..6d2f739620 100644
--- a/src/threading/BasicThread.h
+++ b/src/threading/BasicThread.h
@@ -34,16 +34,31 @@ public:
 	 * @param name A descriptive name for thread the thread. This may
 	 * show up in messages to the user.
 	 */
-	BasicThread(const string& name); // Managed by manager, must not delete otherwise.
+	BasicThread();
 
 	/**
-	 * Returns a descriptive name for the thread. This is the name passed
-	 * into the constructor.
+	 * Returns a descriptive name for the thread. If not set via
+	 * SetName(). If not set, a default name is choosen automatically.
 	 *
 	 * This method is safe to call from any thread.
 	 */
 	const string& Name() const { return name; }
 
+	/**
+	* Sets a descriptive name for the thread. This should be a string
+	* that's useful in output presented to the user and uniquely
+	* identifies the thread.
+	*
+	* This method must be called only from the thread itself.
+	*/
+	void SetName(const string& name);
+
+	/**
+	 * Set the name shown by the OS as the thread's description. Not
+	 * supported on all OSs.
+	 */
+	void SetOSName(const string& name);
+
 	/**
 	 * Starts the thread. Calling this methods will spawn a new OS thread
 	 * executing Run(). Note that one can't restart a thread after a
diff --git a/src/threading/MsgThread.cc b/src/threading/MsgThread.cc
index 1bda8943da..f41b20ddf9 100644
--- a/src/threading/MsgThread.cc
+++ b/src/threading/MsgThread.cc
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ bool ReporterMessage::Process()
 	return true;
 	}
 
-MsgThread::MsgThread(const string& name) : BasicThread(name)
+MsgThread::MsgThread() : BasicThread()
 	{
 	cnt_sent_in = cnt_sent_out = 0;
 	thread_mgr->AddMsgThread(this);
@@ -142,6 +142,12 @@ void MsgThread::OnStop()
 void MsgThread::Heartbeat()
 	{
 	SendIn(new HeartbeatMessage(this, network_time, current_time()));
+
+	string name = Fmt("%s (%d/%d)", name.c_str(),
+			  cnt_sent_in - queue_in.Size(),
+			  cnt_sent_out - queue_out.Size());
+
+	SetOSName(name.c_str());
 	}
 
 void MsgThread::Info(const char* msg)
diff --git a/src/threading/MsgThread.h b/src/threading/MsgThread.h
index ec249e90ad..459ac6c603 100644
--- a/src/threading/MsgThread.h
+++ b/src/threading/MsgThread.h
@@ -34,10 +34,8 @@ public:
 	 * threading::Manager.
 	 *
 	 * Only Bro's main thread may instantiate a new thread.
-	 *
-	 * @param name A descriptive name. This is passed on to BasicThread().
 	 */
-	MsgThread(const string& name);
+	MsgThread();
 
 	/**
 	 * Sends a message to the child thread. The message will be proceesed