Harriet wasn’t the name she was born with
Harriet Tubman was actually born Araminta Ross. From a very early age, however, she was known by the affectionate nickname of “Minty”. It was as Minty that she grew up on a plantation and this was the name her owners used when addressing her, either out in the field or in the house when she started work as a cook and house slave.
Why she changed her name is a matter of some debate among historians. Certainly, Tubman herself never confirmed the reason behind her decision. In 1844, she met and married John Tubman. While he was also a man of color, he was a freeman. Such a union between a free person and a slave were far from uncommon in the South at the time. Minty took his surname, becoming Araminta Tubman. In a cruel twist, however, the law stated that any children born to the couple would be enslaved.
It was only when she had made her plans to escape to freedom that Tubman changed her first name. On the one hand, this was for practical reasons: changing her name would make it harder for the slaveowners to trace her and try and bring her back. But on the other hand, it was also a deeply personal decision. Tubman’s mother was called Harriet and so she chose the name to honor her and preserve her legacy. Notably, however, the change of name was not recognized under American law. Nevertheless, the name stuck and, once she reached freedom, she was able to build a new life with the name of her choosing.