“They didn’t want me to get my dad and me confused,” Coco Gauff explains story behind her ‘rememberable’ name

Reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff has shed light on how she got popular with her nickname and not her actual name.

“They didn’t want me to get my dad and me confused,” Coco Gauff explains story behind her ‘rememberable’ name

Coco Gauff (Image via Imago)

Coco Gauff has shed light on the reasons behind getting popular with her nickname and not her actual name. After compatriot Ben Shelton claimed that the 2023 US Open champion gets so much love from everyone because of her ‘rememberable’ name, Gauff was asked to explain how she got it.

The 20-year-old first took a jibe at her frienShelton saying that he commented on her name because she kept on making fun of his name. Gauff then returned her compatriot the compliment, praising his name as a “solid athlete name.”

YouTube video

Finally, Gauff explained how she got her name, which is not her actual name. She revealed how carrying a name that is not there on her official documents creates confusion as people know her by the name Coco and not her actual name.

FS Video
My real name is Cori. Every time I check into hotels or people at the airport,they look at my ID and obviously, the airport you book under your real name, but the person sometimes will recognize me and they'll be like, ‘Wait, are you Coco?’ I'm like, ‘Yeah, it's just a nickname. I'm not somebody that looks like her.’ In the hotel, sometimes, they’re like, ‘we don't have your room.’ I'm like, ‘it's probably under Coco, not Cori,’ and then they'll do that.
Coco Gauff said at a press conference
RELATED
“I will do it again,” Coco Gauff makes bold prediction about her US Open title chances after opening round win
Coco Gauff US Open

Coco Gauff has two stories behind her name

Coco Gauff joked that as her father’s first name is Corey, they named her Coco to avoid confusion when her mother is yelling at one of them.

Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff (Image via X) 
But my dad's name is Corey, and so I guess, you know, they didn't want me to get my dad and me confused when my mom is like yelling at one of us in the house.
Coco Gauff said at a press conference

In the end, the 20-year-old revealed two stories about how she got the name Coco. She said that while her aunt claims to have come up with this name, her father also claims credit for it. She revealed that her father decided to name her Coco because people would call her Co when she was younger.

Coco, there's like two stories. My aunt says she came up with calling me Coco. But then my dad said when he was younger people used to call me Co. Then he was like, ‘I'll call my daughter Coco.’ I don't know which story is actually true, but they both get pretty bad if I don't say both of them.
Coco Gauff added

Whatever the story behind it, Gauff has made the name her own. She bagged her maiden Grand Slam title at the age of 19 at the US Open last year. She is back in New York now and began her title defense in style, thumping Varvara Gracheva 6-2, 6-0 in the first round.

In case you missed!