The Chinese name has a good deal to do with cultural tradition. In traditional Chinese practice, north is the direction of evil. Cities were planned with gates at the south and rulers sat facing south. Magnets were actually first used as tools in geomancy rather than navigation. [1] This is why you would not call a magnet a points-north-needle.

Of course, the association of North with evil is itself probably because of the Northern hemisphere seasons. North, cold, winter and evil and all grouped together in opposition to South, warm, summer, and good.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compass#Geomancy_and_feng_shui