I agree and was curious why they picked it. I guess their reasoning is as good as any.

> Steem is a form of esteem, which means to prize or value. Steem is also a homophone for steam, which is frequently associated with power, and a step further, steam powered trains gave influence to English idioms, such as ‘this conversation is picking up steam.’ The associations with prizing, language and empowerment only felt right.

https://steem.io/#faq

But there is already a very popular service called Steam, so I think I would have kept searching for another name, personally. No reason to risk confusion.

Still, Steem is an infinitely better name than Steemit.

Copycat of Reddit (lol).