Why did Muhammad Ali change his birth name?

The reason behind the name change is simple: it was the name given to him by the United States government because of his father, Cassius Clay. Cassius Clay was born into slavery as a child. He was named after the Roman general whose campaigns of conquest had made him rich, and his father was named after the great philosopher, politician and writer, Marcus Tullius Cicero.

Why did boxing legend Muhammad Ali change his name?

While many people assume that it was to avoid being drafted during the Vietnam War, Ali’s decision actually had more to do with religion. Ali was born Cassius Clay, a name he got from a Native American slave owner who had given his former slave an Indian name to make him seem less intimidating. The new name was chosen in part because it was the name of a boxer whom Ali admired: the great boxer Jack Johnson.

Why did Muhammad Ali change his name to Cassius Clay?

Although his first name is Arabic, his last name is English. The origin of his last name is unclear, but it’s possible that it goes back to the family line of an African slave. He legally changed his last name from Clay to Clay in 1964, the year in which he won the heavyweight championship of boxing, for purely practical reasons. By this point, he was making millions of dollars from boxing matches, and he didn’t want to have to defend different names in court

Why did Muhammad Ali change his name to Cassius X?

Ali says that he chose the name because of the meaning of the letters in it. He says that the “X” in his name is the 10th letter of the alphabet and represents a past glory and a future greatness. This was most likely the reason he chose the name.

Why did Muhammad Ali change his name as Cassius Clay?

Ali’s given name was Cassius Marcellus Clay, after two of his great-grandfathers. He legally changed his last name to Clay when he turned 22 in 1964, for two reasons. He wanted to separate himself from the name of his stepfather, and he chose the name of a famous boxer who had defeated Sonny Liston, the heavyweight champion at that time, in a fight that was widely considered one of the most exciting of the 20th century.