C.J. Stroud has emerged as one of the best rookie quarterbacks in NFL history. The No. 2 overall pick from the 2023 NFL Draft has enjoyed a terrific season, putting the Texans ahead of schedule in their rebuild and setting numerous rookie records while doing so.
Indeed, it looks like Stroud is going to be a great NFL quarterback for a long time. If he can continue to develop, his name will go down in the annals of NFL history as one of the best — and perhaps the best from his draft class.
But not many know Stroud's full name. He is known as "C.J." to most, but his full name is unique and has a nice ring to it.
So, what is C.J. Stroud's full name? Here's what to know about it and how long the name has been in his family.
What is C.J. Stroud's full name?
Stroud's full name is Coleridge Bernard Stroud IV. He goes by C.J. Stroud and only wears "Stroud" on the back of his jersey — not "Stroud IV."
MORE: Breaking down C.J. Stroud's game-winning drive vs. the Bengals
How did C.J. Stroud get his name?
The original "Coleridge Bernard Stroud" was C.J.'s great-grandfather. Cleveland.com's Stephen Means reported that he was named after a Greek philosopher from the 1800s, but it appears that he could have been named after English poet and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Either way, the Strouds explained that since then, the "Coleridge Bernard" name had been passed down through generations of their family.
That said, Kim Stroud told Cleveland.com that nobody calls her son C.J. by his full name. What do they call him?
"Cool Breeze," his mother Kim said of one of Stroud's nicknames. "He’s a calm, cool breeze because you can never tell an emotion on him. Sometimes he’ll make little gestures or whatever, but he’s real cool-headed.”
What is the "J" for in C.J. Stroud's name?
There hasn't yet been an explanation for where Stroud gets the "J" in his "C.J." name, as his initials would be "C.B."
That said, this could be a situation similar to that of Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Jr.; The Eagles defensive back goes by CJ Gardner-Johnson because he is "Chauncey Junior."
That said, there isn't any evidence that Stroud went by "Coleridge Junior," though he was called "Little Man" by his youth football coach Willie Munford, per the Washington Post.
Perhaps we'll get an answer to this mystery at some point during Stroud's career.
