Jess Battison
It’s no secret by now that plenty of celebrities and sports stars we know and love don’t actually use their real names.
From Will Ferrell being deeply embarrassed by his to Emma Stone actually wanting to go by her real name more often - sorry, Emily.
And now, people are only just realising Tiger Woods’ real name along with the meaningful reason behind his animal-themed nickname.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time, the 48-year-old is easily one of the most famous athletes in modern history.
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I mean, the bloke’s practically a household name – even if it isn’t really his name.
An inductee of the World Golf Hall of Fame, the American holds multiple records, with his relationships often hitting headlines as much as his golfing.
But another thing fans often chat about is the discovery that the famous ‘Tiger Woods’ name is just a nickname.
The iconic golfer’s real name is actually just Eldrick.
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Born in Cypress, California back in 1975, his parents named the pro golfer to be Eldrick Tont Woods. It’s believed his mum chose the first name as it began with the same letter as his dad, Earl, and ended with the same letter as her first name, Kultida.
Kultida is originally from Thailand, where his dad met him while on tour as a US Army officer back in 1968. The middle name Tont is a traditional Thai name, meaning the ‘beginning’ in English.
However, the ‘Tiger’ nickname soon came into play for a rather sweet reason – and he began to use it by the time he turned professional.
He was going as Eldrick while an amateur and is still known as that on his official and personal records.
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His dad’s very close friend, Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, was regularly referred to as Tiger by his pals.
So, in his honour, Earl started calling his son by the same name.
In an old ESPN interview, Woods’ dad said: “I knew instinctively that my son was going to have fame. Some day my old friend would see him on television, read about him in a newspaper or magazine, and say, 'That must be Woody’s kid’, and we’d find each other again.”
However, that sadly never did happen as the grave of Phong was found in North Vietnam.
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“Phong would be totally flabbergasted by Tiger, completely blown away," Early told Golf Digest.
"He would view him as his own son. He wouldn’t know a damned thing about golf, but it wouldn’t be necessary. He would be so proud and so happy.”