Have you talked to Zooko about using his name for your project? He might not appreciate you trading on his reputation this way, particularly if your designs or implementations turn out to be fundamentally flawed.
Indeed - the developer here could ask Zooko, & be open to consider other names that convey homage & inspirations without wholesale endorsement. (1st thing that comes to mind: 'Zooter', combining suggestive fragments of 'zooko' & 'twitter'.)
Even cypherpunks soured on conventional IP often believe in folk trademarks, enforced by the reputational pressures to not mislead.
The dude doesn't own the name Zooko just 'cause his parents named that, if he has a problem with it the dev can remove the part of the README that mentions it's named in honor of him. That doesn't mean this Zooko person (my first time hearing of him) can demand or should demand the name of the project change.
My 2 cents but you seem a bit too incredulous over it.
Why are you commenting here if you don't know who Zooko is? That's like commenting on US history without knowing that the US is a country. How could your opinion possibly add anything of value?
Even cypherpunks soured on conventional IP often believe in folk trademarks, enforced by the reputational pressures to not mislead.