Sir Tom Jones has been in our lives for decades, but not everyone knows the story behind the singer’s name. It turns out, it was altered slightly for a clever reason

When it comes to Welsh legends, it’s fair to say Sir Tom Jones is up there with the best.

The Pontypridd-born singer, who burst onto the music scene in the 1960s, has had numerous hits over the years from the “Green, Green Grass of Home” to “Sex Bomb”, but there are still some things people don’t know about the icon.

One such fact centres around his name, and how he became known as Tom Jones. The conversation recently came up on TikTok, where his real name was disclosed.

It seems some didn’t know the clever story behind how it all came about, and people couldn’t believe it. One thing is for sure though – Sir Tom still has many fans all over the world.

One person said: “One of the greatest.” Another added: “Awesome and always will be.”

A third also replied: “My mother used to tell me to learn to dance like him every time his show came on.”

But, if you didn’t know, Tom Jones isn’t Sir Tom’s real name – it’s just his stage name. You’re probably clued up on the piece of music trivia if you’re a die-hard fan, but there’s a reason why it was changed.

Sir Tom’s full name is actually Thomas John Woodward, but he mixed it up when he became famous, and there’s a good reason why. In 1963, Sir Tom began to sing with the band Tommy Scott and the Senators, who gained quite a big following in South Wales.

Then one night, reportedly at the Top Hat in Cwmtillery, Sir Tom was spotted by Gordon Mills – a manager working in London who was originally from South Wales.

The singer was raised in Pontypridd (Image: Getty Images)
It wasn’t long before he became Sir Tom’s manager, and he renamed him “Tom Jones” in bid to make use of the popular Academy Award-winning 1963 film which carried the same name.

So, in a nutshell, the story behind the name is quite clever as it was chosen to get him noticed. If you’ve never seen the movie, it’s a period comedy inspired by Henry Fielding’s classic 1749 novel – The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling.

It was directed by Tony Richardson, and the screenplay was written by John Osborne. Acting legend Albert Finney also took on the role of the titular character.

The cast also features Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, Diane Cilento and David Warner. It was a big hit both critically and in the box office.