If that is truly there case, then we need to change the name. It is earlier enough we still could. If being a dark coin is going to be such a challenge to get mass adoption, what is the point of calling it darkcoin?
Well, I argued for a name change some time ago, but the idea didn't have enough support -- basically the official line is that the name will not change. The Darkcoin brand actually does a decent job of filling the "underground" niche, but I have always felt it will prevent the coin from gaining widespread adoption. Of course, that's just an opinion, and time will tell. IMO the best that can be achieved given the circumstances is to mitigate the effects of the stigma by carefully thought out branding & marketing.