The Name Game

Last night while waiting to fall asleep, a random thought crept into my head. How do celebrities who use nicknames sign their names? When Tiger Woods signs autographs for fans, he signs "Tiger Woods." But Tiger's real first name is Eldrick, so I would assume that he has to sign his legal documents with his legal name "Eldrick Woods." So does that mean he has to have two signatures? How does one mentally keep track of which one to use? This must get annoying for celebrities with stage names, like Snoop Dogg (Calvin Broadus) and Tom Cruise (Thomas Mapother). If you accidentally sign a contract with your stage name, is the contract then voided? It must get awfully confusing for a guy like Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, who's constantly switching back-and-forth from businessman to rapper (to rapper with different moniker).

Then again, maybe all these celebrities are a step ahead of me, which would explain why so many of them have signatures that can barely be deciphered. That way, they can just have one all-purpose signature for all their autographical needs.