Stopping the workflow when creating a new layer by opening the Layer Properties window is a bad decision.

Usually an artist doesn't care what his layer is called, so it would be better to skip the display of this window when creating a new layer.
To rename an already created layer, it would be more convenient to double-click on its name in order to call up in place of its name an input field containing the current name of the layer with all the characters highlighted. The same thing can be called by pressing F2 (the standard key for renaming in many programs).

To bring up the current "Layer Properties" window, double-click on the layer icon, or use RMB to bring up a context menu with options like: "Rename" and "Properties"