Why is the pronoun já here necessarily? To jméno jsem ti dal is not accepted
Because, in Czech, it sounds weird. ,,To jméno jsem ti dal." (I'm Czech.) In this case, something should be given for this sentence.
,,To jméno jsem ti dal včera."
Theoretically, one can say. "To jméno jsem ti DAL." I GAVE you the name." "I DID give you the name." But it is weird indeed.
it is not. It was an omission
What is wrong with: Ti jsem dal to jmeno?
That would be a placement issue for ti. But a similar, accepted translation is "Dal jsem ti to jméno" -- with jsem in second place and ti following it. Another, which keeps the pronoun in front as in your suggestion, is "TOBĚ jsem dala to jméno."
Thanks-- that's helpful.