‘I was too scared to step on anyone’s toes’: KL Iro explains why he decided to change his name

Anyone who has had their name mispronounced can appreciate why KL Iro decided now was the right time to make a major change.

Sharks star KL Iro has opened up on last week’s decision to change his first name from Kayal, with the strike centre hoping it clears up any confusion about how to pronounce his name.

Fans would have noticed last Tuesday that his name had changed on the Cronulla team sheet, with the 25-year-old wanting to recognise his father’s initials, with Kevin Leslie Iro dominating wherever he played.

The name change was something KL had always considered, with some commentators struggling to pronounce both his given name and surname.

KL Iro received his first jersey from his father. Picture: NRL Images.

“It was more for the pronunciation because it’s actually how my name’s pronounced,” the Cook Islands representative said.

“When I was a kid my dad used to always write anything that was mine ‘KL’.

“I think he was just stubborn because my mum wouldn’t want it to be a two-letter name when I was a kid.

“She’s the one that changed it to Kayal. I think it was just foreign back then to have a two-letter name. But my dad always wanted it to be ‘KL’ and I like it that way too because it’s easier to pronounce and there’s no confusion.

“When I first moved to Australia, my dad always wanted me to change it, but I’ve always been a shy guy. I was too scared to step on anyone’s toes.

“I guess I’ve built a bit of a relationship with these fellas now, so I asked the question and got it done pretty quickly.

“It’s pretty cool for our family actually because even my dad and uncle when they were playing, the Pommies would pronounce it ‘aye-ro’, rather than ‘ear-ro’. He obviously didn’t care, he loved it.”

Iro celebrated his return from injury with a try at Magic Round. Picture: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Iro is just happy to be back on the field after he missed a month with a hamstring injury that put the brakes on a very promising start to the season.

He made a strong return at Magic Round and extended his try-scoring streak to five matches to start the season, with Iro set to come up against Manly’s powerful right edge on Sunday.

“I missed it,” he said.

“I felt I was ready to go two weeks ago but they were nervous to get me out there too quickly and possibly do it again. I’m happy to be back because I missed it.”

Originally published as ‘I was too scared to step on anyone’s toes’: KL Iro explains why he decided to change his name