“Afterward, some historians theorize, large numbers of blacks chose the name Washington in the process of asserting their freedom.
Makes sense — but I would have also expected a fair number of Lincolns, for that same reason.”
You would think so. But it didn’t happen. The people of the time, both black and white respected Washington. My Cherokee ancestors took the name Washington, Madison as well, not a ‘Lincoln’ in the bunch.
Didn’t American Indians commonly name themselves after some signifying vision they had in a dream around the time of adolescence? Hence names like Red Feather, Big Eagle, and the like.
Suppose one of this Indians had a more modernized dream, perhaps of a rifle being used in combat. Then he had to take a surname. Might that result in a Hot Rod Lincoln?