10 Famous Historical Figures Who Changed Their Name

9. Muhammad Ali

The self-professed "Greatest" boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali claimed light-heavyweight Olympic gold in Rome in 1960 and won 56 of his 61 bouts. Yet Muhammad Ali was not his original name - it was in fact "Cassius Clay". However, shortly after winning the world title for the first time from Sonny Liston in 1964, Clay announced that he was changing his name having joined the religion of the Nation of Islam. The group's leader, Elijah Muhammad, announced that Clay would be renamed "Muhammad" ("one who is worthy of praise") "Ali" (the fourth of the Sunni Rashidun Caliphs). Yet Ali's name change proved to be extremely controversial, due to the fact many believed the Nation of Islam was a black separatist hate religion who supported violent methods. Therefore only a few journalists at the time would accept Ali's name change in 1964, which led to Ali famously remarking that: "Cassius Clay is my slave name." Clay would also later comment, having been stripped of his world title for refusing the draft for the Vietnam War, that: "My enemy is the white people, not the Vietcong." Interestingly, civil rights activist Malcolm X quit the Nation of Islam just weeks after Ali joined, meaning the pair - who had been close friends - lost contact almost immediately after the boxer had converted, something they both regretted.