Name Dropping

Following the name through the Black family tree can be a tricky thing.
Since the day of Adam and Eve, the authority to name another living thing is the exercise of subjective power and authority.
During the diaspora, Blacks were stripped of their original names and labeled by people who considered them property. Renaming could come about at anytime by way of sale or designation of particular behavior.
Black slaves may still have name their own, giving their children the only thing they could. Such names would not be used for the masters, but reserved as a hint for connecting families despite separation and sales.
Following emancipation, now freeman choose their names. Frequently, we assume those names came from their owner's. But sometimes they didn't.
Lincoln and Freeman became particularly desirable. As did names of neighbors or whites who had left an impression on those previously enslaved.
Censuses and other records which record names are often recorded according to the phonetic spelling of the clerk. Check for you names under every possible spelling--then look for variations. Names sometimes drop syllables, or take on new forms.
Look intently at the date of birth and time line to help verify identity. Also, pay attention to the location, other family members and friends of your subject. Consider nic-names and abbreviations too.
My great-great grandfather's name changes in three consecutive census from Tump to Tuck, to Trump. His son, and my great-grandfather Walter becomes Arthur in some of the local directories. His son and my grandfather, is born Douglas Peeler, marries and Bick Peeler and enlists as Walter Peeler.