@Gargron what a great history to the name. TIL.
Yes, likely a good decision to take away friction. And I've seen countless HN discussion where people took offense, while others defended the name.
"Toot" will live on in the Urban Dictionary of the fediverse and people say it affectionally.
I am no sociologist but I feel that that simple "dare to be different" name might have contributed a lot to the current Fediverse culture we have, and which we like so much.