Why doesn't Tiger Woods use his real name?

Tiger Woods' name is synonymous with golf. With 15 major championship wins and 13 years at the top of the world rankings, his name has transcended the boundaries of the sport. But Tiger wasn't always known as Tiger; his real name is Eldrick Tont Woods.

He was born in 1975 in California. His parents, Kutilda and Earl, found inspiration for his original name in their own names. The unusual name began with the first letter of his father's name and ended with the first letter of his mother's name.

Tont, which means "firstborn" or "beginning" in Thai, pays homage to Kutilda's origins. She is originally from Thailand, where she met Earl in 1968 while he was in the army. It is from Earl's military background that Tiger's world-famous nickname stems, writes Give Me Sport.

The story behind the name

During his military service, the Earl developed a friendship with Colonel Vuong Dang Phong, whom close friends called Tiger. In honor of his friend, the Earl began calling his son Tiger, hoping that one day it would bring them together again.

Phong passed away before they met again, but Earl believed his friend would have been proud and touched by Tiger's golfing achievements.

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"Phong would be completely amazed by Tiger, he would be speechless. He would see him as his son," Earl declared in an interview with Golf Digest. "He would know nothing about golf, but that wouldn't matter. He would be very happy and extremely proud."

As if two names weren't enough, Tiger discovered that his father called him by a third name. Even more unusual was that Earl rarely called him Tiger.

“My dad called me Sam since the day I was born,” Tiger told the Augusta Chronicle, adding, “I’d ask him, ‘Why don’t you ever call me Tiger?’ And he’d say, ‘Well, you look more like Sam.’ I said, ‘Okay, great.’”

Tiger continues the tradition

When he became a father, Tiger continued the tradition started by his father. His first child, a daughter, was born on June 18, 2007, and Tiger and his then-wife Elin didn't have to think long about a name. They named their little girl Sam Alexis Woods, in honor of Tiger's father.

Tiger's second child, a son named Charlie, is following in his father's footsteps. In February of last year, Charlie played in the Cognizant Classic, his first PGA Tour qualifying tournament. /Telegraph/