Can I specify custom port names in the Arduino IDE on Linux?
Consider using a device name of form ttyUSBnn, where nn is fairly large.  For example, in /dev you could say

sudo ln -s ttyUSB1 ttyUSB77


Then, ttyUSB77 shows up in the IDE's ports list and can be selected.

(I don't know how to set up that link using the udev system, but imagine it can be done.)