It is unusual for athletes to have multiple nicknames during their playing career. Few athletes are more well-known by their nicknames than by their given names.
For example, Kobe Bryant is popularly known as Black Mamba, and Diego Maradona was dubbed the Golden Boy. Few athletes, however, legally changed their names.
These athletes are better known by the names they legally changed from their birth names. “What’s in a name?” you might ask. However, when you are famous, people take this a little more seriously.
While some changed their names to gain popularity, others did so for religious reasons. Similarly, a few athletes changed their names because they thought the name was catchy.
Whatever the reason, we have compiled a list of some athletes who have changed their names and have the best athlete names.
8 Best Athletes With Various Nicknames
We compiled this list using internet resources such as SportzBusiness, SportsAspire, and others. Let’s take a look at our standings.
| Athletes Names | Sports |
| 8. World B. Free | Basketball |
| 7. Marvelous Marvin Hagler | Boxing |
| 6. Sugar Ray Robinson | Boxing |
| 5. Bo Jackson | Baseball |
| 4. Mark Super Duper | Football |
| 3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Basketball |
| 2. Pele | Soccer |
| 1. Muhammad Ali | Boxing |
8. Free World
On our eighth list of the best athlete names, we begin with World B. Free. Lloyd Bernard Free was born on December 9, 1953. He is a former NBA basketball player who has retired.
During his career, Free was also known as the “Prince of Mid-Air” and “All-World.” In 1975, he began his NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers.
He later played for the San Diego Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Tropics, Houston Rockets, and Atlanta Eagles, among others. His NBA career lasted until 1988.
On December 8, 1981, a day before his 28th birthday, Free legally changed his first name to World. The name was given to him in junior high at Brownville, according to the player.
The nickname “World” was given to him because all-city and all-country were insufficient, so they came up with it.
With this name, Free became well-known. After retiring as a professional player, the “All-World” became the Philadelphia 76ers’ director of player development and community ambassador.
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7. Marvin Hagler, the Marvelous
Marvelous Marvin Hagler ranks seventh on our list of the best athlete names. Marvin was born Nathaniel Hagler a professional boxer and film actor from the United States.
Hagler began boxing in 1969 after being beaten up on the street by a local boxer. Because he needed to be 16 to compete in amateur tournaments, the athlete had to lie about his age, claiming he was born in 1952 rather than 1954.
“Marvelous” was Hagler’s nickname. However, he was irritated that the announcers did not always refer to him by name. As a result, he legally changed his name to “Marvelous Marvin Hagler” in 1982.
Since then, the fan has associated Hagler with the name. From 1973 to 1987, he had the highest knockout percentage of any undisputed middleweight champion.
Similarly, the Marvelous holds the record for the sixth-longest reign as middleweight champion. He was also a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
Hagler was named Fighter of the Year twice by many sports illustrators and magazines, including the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Marvelous Marvin Hagler, a great boxer with talent and one of the most chins in boxing history, died on March 13, 2021, at the age of 66.
6. Sugar Ray Robinson
Sugar Ray Robinson, born Walker Smith Jr., is ranked sixth on our list of the best athlete names. On May 3, 1921, he was born. Robinson is a former professional boxer from the United States.
In his first fight, in 1936, he was known as Ray Robinson because he had borrowed another boxer’s Amateur Athletic Union card.
He entered the ring under that boxer’s name. Gainford gave Robinson the nickname “Sugar” after describing him as “sweet as sugar.”
The athlete thought the name Sugar Ray Robinson sounded good. As a result, he never used his given name again for the rest of his career.
Robinson is widely regarded as the greatest boxer of all time. From 1940 to 1965, he worked professionally. From 1946 to 1951, he held the World Welterweight championship.
In 1958, he also became the first boxer to win a Divisional World Championship five times. In his professional career, he had 175 wins, 110 knockouts, and only 19 losses.
Aside from his memorable name, Robinson was well-known for his refined and flamboyant lifestyle outside of the ring. Unfortunately, the legendary boxer died on April 12, 1989, at the age of 67.
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5. Michael Jackson
Bo Jackson is a retired baseball and football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to have been named an All-Star in both baseball and football.
On November 30, 1962, he was born Vincent Edward “Bo” Jackson. Jackson was a baseball and football player. Furthermore, he rose to prominence in both sports and received numerous awards.
Jackson rose to prominence as “Bo” as a result of a hugely successful national advertising campaign with Nike. The slogan “Bo Knows” was featured in the advertisement.
Bo Jackson in 2011 NCAA Honors Celebration, San Antonio Bo Jackson played baseball for various MLB franchises such as the Kansas City Riyals, Chicago White Sox, and California Angels. He also played for the Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League.
Jackson’s football career was cut short in 1991 due to a hip injury. Later, in 1994, his baseball career ended as well. Following his playing career, Bo appeared in a few television shows.
Jackson is regarded as one of the most famous athletes of all time. He is best known as “Bo Jackson” and ranks fifth on our list of the best athlete names.
4. Super Duper Mark
When one hears Super Duper, one does not immediately think of someone’s legal name. However, a former football wide receiver named Mark Super Duper ranks fourth on our list of the best athlete names.
On January 25, 1959, he was born Mark Kirby Duper. He played in the NFL from 1982 to 1992 after being drafted in the second round of the 1982 NFL draft by the Miami Dolphins.
Duper played 11 seasons in the NFL, all with the Miami Dolphins. The Miami Hooters (now Florida Bobcats) of the Arena Football League (AFL) signed him for a year in 1994.
Duper legally changed his name to Mark Super Duper in 1985. Because of his incredible abilities, he earned the nickname “Super Duper” from his teammates. With his selection to the Pro Bowl, he officially changed his name.
During his career, Super Duper was named to the Pro Bowl three times and All-Pro twice. Similarly, among athletes known by different names, Mark Super Duper’s name is one of the most unusual.
Duper was inducted into the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll in 2003.
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. was born Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, as well as one of the best players in NBA history.
Before beginning his NBA career, Abdul-Jabbar legally changed his name. The player was attending UCLA during the summer of 1968. Alcindor Jr. converted to Islam while there. He then adopted the Arabic name, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
His name means “the noble one, servant of the Almighty.” However, Abdul-Jabbar did not immediately change his name and was still known by his old name during his rookie year.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar is a basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks. (Image courtesy of Instagram)
During his second NBA season, Abdul-Jabbar held a press conference to announce his name. At the time, Abdul-Jabbar was a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.
His fans remained loyal to him even after the news broke. He was a Bucks player until 1975 when he signed with the Los Angeles Laker. He left the NBA in 1989, but he still holds numerous records.
Abdul-Jabbar transitioned from playing to coaching after retiring from the NBA. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.
2. Pele
Pele is the second-best athlete name on our list. He was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento on October 23, 1940. He is a former Brazilian soccer player regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
When Pele was born, electricity had just been introduced in his hometown. Thus, he was named after Thomas Edison. Pele was his nickname before he became renowned by this name.
According to the legend, the nickname is linked to a teammate goalkeeper Bile of his father when he played for Vasco de Sao Lourenco.
When Pele shouted Bile, it sounded Pile due to his slightly off pronunciation. Then afterward, it became Pele. Although he wasn’t fond of the name initially, he later embraced it.
Pele is one of the most successful and popular sports figures of the 20th century. He was 15 when he started playing soccer for the Brazilian sports club Santos. Similarly, he started playing for the national team at 16.
Pele has gathered many achievements during his career. His 1,279 goals in 1,363 games are the Guinness World Record. He became a legend with a nickname that he initially hated.
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1. Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is a world-renowned athlete and a legendary figure in sports history. The boxer is one of the most significant, celebrated sports figures of the 20th century and, thus, on our number 1 spot.
On January 17, 1942, Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. He started his boxing career as an amateur in 1954 while he made his professional debut in 1960 against Tunney Hunsaker.
In 1961, Ali converted his religion to Islam and changed his name. During the era, America was infested with racism. The boxer’s eyes fell on an article with a cartoon message where Christianity was forced on enslaved people by the white establishment.
It made Ali realize that he had not chosen his religion Christianity on his own, and thus, he changed his religion. The boxer renounced his birth name as a slave name.
The change in his religion defined Ali’s career and legacy in many different ways. Then, he announced the change right after winning the heavyweight championship. Likewise, he also made a personal declaration of independence.
Ali played many historic matches during his career. He became an iconic symbol for American Muslims. After his retirement, he became a philanthropist and an activist.
Unfortunately, this legendary icon passed away at the age of 74 on June 3, 2016.
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Conclusion
These players changed their names for various reasons. Furthermore, they have become famous with their later names, and thus, the World has also come to know them with these different names.
Whatever the reason, we feel like they have the best athletes’ names in the sports world.
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