https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Hooker

The widespread belief that the slang term “hooker,” referring to a prostitute, originates from General Hooker’s surname due to illicit gatherings and insufficient military discipline at his headquarters near the Murder Bay district of Washington, DC, has persisted in popular culture.[26] Certain iterations of this legend suggest that the contingent of prostitutes who followed his division were pejoratively labeled as “General Hooker’s Army” or “Hooker’s Brigade.”[27] Nevertheless, historical evidence demonstrates that the term “hooker” appeared in published sources as early as 1845, predating General Hooker’s rise to public prominence.[28] Linguistic and historical scholarship instead points to the term’s likely derivation from the significant population of prostitutes in the Corlear’s Hook area of Manhattan during the early to mid-19th century, where the appellation “hooker” became commonplace.[29] While the enduring association between the general’s name and the term may have contributed to its broader popularization,[30] contemporary evidence indicates that an area in Washington, DC known for prostitution during the Civil War was colloquially identified as “Hooker’s Division”—a label later abbreviated to “The Division” during General Hooker’s tenure in the city following the First Battle of Bull Run, where he was tasked with defending the capital.[31] Consequently, the link between the term and General Hooker, though culturally persistent, is undermined by substantial historical documentation that favors alternative etymologies.