Frederick Douglass chose his name from a poem

One of the 10 Interesting Facts about Frederick Douglass is that Frederick Douglass is not his true name. Actually, he chose his name from a poem. Douglass used aliases to avoid being discovered after fleeing enslavement despite the fact that he was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey.

In particular, the joy of being free was soon overshadowed by feelings of loneliness and fear of being abducted. Many "man-hunters" who are willing to return runaway slaves to their masters for a price are present in the North. Fortunately, he ran upon abolitionist David Ruggles, who suggested that he relocate to New Bedford, Massachusetts, which is located around fifty miles south of Boston and where he could readily find work. Here, Douglass first makes mention of his wife, Anna Murray, a liberated lady he had met in Maryland and who had moved to New York City with him. After getting hitched on September 15, 1838, they promptly left for New Bedford, staying with abolitionist Nathan Johnson.

When Douglass first arrived in New Bedford, Massachusetts, he believed there were too many Johnsons about to set himself apart. In order to avoid being discovered by slave hunters, Johnson advised Frederick to alter his last name. Douglass clarifies: "I granted Mr. Johnson the right to choose my name, but I warned him not to take the name "Frederick" away from me. To maintain my feeling of self, I must cling to it". Johnson substituted "Douglas", a persona from Sir Walter Scott's extensive love poem The Lady of the Lake for "Bailey". Strangely, James of Douglas, the exiled lord in the poem, has just one "s" in his name.