But why? People who know those individuals can easily know what they did and they're just meaningless names to everyone else. Credits in movies are ridiculous. What even is a "best boy grip" and why does everyone need to know his name? With actors, it makes sense and the audience gets value from that. But do people have favorite best boy grips that put some special touch on the movie to make it better than all those others?
Do you want names of engineers on physical products too? Brand names and compliance logos are bad enough.
For those like me who were curious, from the Wikipedia article[1]:
According to the OED, "It has been suggested that it originated as a term for a master's most able apprentice, or alternatively that it was transferred from earlier use for a member of a ship's crew, but confirmatory evidence for either of these theories appears to be lacking." The earliest known appearance of the phrase in print is 1931 from the Albuquerque Journal: "Among the electricians ... the department head is the gaffer, his first assistant is the best boy."
Ah, so it's that. Audiences have no reason to care who does that job. It surely has no creative impact on the movie. It's just some weird culture of crediting everyone and his dog. A similar problem exists in academic papers. At least my builder doesn't write his name all over my walls.
Do you want names of engineers on physical products too? Brand names and compliance logos are bad enough.