Some fans might be taken aback to hear that their favorite Portuguese striker, Diogo Jota, is not actually his real nаme.

Jota was once known by a completely other nаme. Since joining Liverpool from fellow Premier League team Wolves in 2020, he has scored 50 goals in 131 games.

The 27-year-old’s parents gave him the nаme Diogo Jose Teixeira da Silva. He was born in the Massarelos neighborhood of Porto in 1995.

To set himself apart from other players in the team who shared the Silva surnаme—the most prevalent in Portugal—he would, however, ask to have the nаme “Diogo J” printed on the back of his shirt when he first started playing football.

The letter ‘J’ is pronounced in Portuguese in the same way as Jota’s nаme.

Unlike in Spain, where the nаme Jota would be pronounced with a ‘H’ sound, as is the case with former Brentford, Birmingham, and Aston Villa player Jota, it is pronounced with a harsh ‘J’.

Diogo Jota’s colleagues came to refer to him by his moniker after he started wearing the letter “J” on the back of his shirt.

Portuguese publication Expresso clarified in 2016 that “that’s what they read every time the kid started toward the area and his back was the only thing they could see.”

Instead of the usual “Diogo J,” Jota wore the nаme “Silva” on the back of his shirt when he first joined Wolves on loan from Atletico Madrid in 2017.

The Molineux club disclosed that this occurred as a result of EFL regulations requiring all players to wear their full surname on their jersey.

Jota was permitted to use his favorite moniker, which he still uses at Anfield, after Wolves were promoted to the Premier League for the 2018–19 season.

On Tuesday, Jota scored for Jurgen Klopp’s team in their 2-0 victory over Burnley.