I think a little more thought could go into what SE are naming them in order to reward players that are more attentive to this information. In my opinion there should (most of the time) be some subtle indication in an abilities name as to whether it is single target, AOE etc...

There are some abilities that already do this, but there are many others that leave you guessing. One example is "Evil sphere" Which is a tank buster, however for a single target attack the name is really misleading.

standard train of thought is:

Sphere > Circle > Area > AOE

I think most people would also make this connection too.

You can argue that you will learn to associate the names with the attack as you get used to the fight, but I don't think it would hurt to reward players who interpret correctly. Getting it right would mean getting a little further into the fight before a potential wipe on your first runs.