There is quite old precedent in OSS for creating a brand new project rather than taking the name of the old one. Whether it's because the old one was abandoned, wouldn't incorporate changes, needed functionality had to break the ABI, legal/regulatory issues, copyright issues, etc, forking a project with a new name is commonplace in OSS. Probably most commonly as "-ng" (Next Generation) project names.

You already have the right to copy all of someone's years of hard work, add a tiny patch, and pass it off as your own project with a new name. The very least you can do is give respect to the original author by allowing them to keep their original name.

Then there's potential for libel. Let's say you fork a project, keep the original name, and then pepper the project with Nazi propaganda. The original author is trying to get a job, and his resume has the name of the original project. A prospective employer searches the name and finds the new project (with the old name) full of hate speech. If he gave away the old name, a libel suit to change the new project's name may fail, and his reputation might be forever tarnished.