From the New York Times: Who Put the Lincoln in Lincoln Center? Good Question

Surprisingly, after five decades, the origin of the word “Lincoln” in Lincoln Center “is a mystery,” said Judith Johnson, Lincoln Center’s corporate archivist. “It is one of those questions that should have an answer – because so many other places in New York have a reason for their naming. But that’s not true here.”

I always assumed it was Lincoln Kirstein, but I think I had my chronology wrong.