How to exclude a category named with numbers

Hi,

I have several categories that use numbers for names. So when i try to exclude some, using query_post or if_category, and using the short name for the category, which is a number, it doesn’t work, because since it’s a number it “thinks” it’s the ID.
Any way to solve this? In the meanwhile, i’ll use the id number for the category, but i’d really like to be able to exclude it using the “name” (number) of the category, so i t’s clear.