New Miami Dolphin Chad Ochocinco Changes Last Name Back To 'Johnson' For His Wife

The six-time Pro Bowler for the Bengals changed his name back to Johnson at the Broward County Courthouse in Florida on Monday, according to the Associated Press.

And ESPN.com sourced the website OCNNReport.com in a story reporting that Johnson made the decision to revert back to his birth name in some part as a result of the preferences of his new wife, Evelyn Lozada, who supposedly didn't want to take the name Ochocinco, a name Johnson made based off his jersey number of 85.

Johnson had already changed his name on his Twitter account from Chad Ochocinco back to Chad Johnson -- though he kept ochocinco in parentheses after Johnson, likely to ensure people can still identify his Twitter -- after he signed with the Dolphins a few weeks ago, according to ESPN.com.

I'm refocused and locked in. Time to get back to the old me, he told ESPN.com in a phone interview on Monday. I'm just doing it for the marriage. It has nothing to do with football. Ochocinco is still in me. It's just my middle name.

The 34-year-old player -- whose production has fallen off in recent years -- added during the conversation with ESPN.com that his Miami Dolphins jersey will bear the name Johnson on the back.

Ochocinco is not the only high-profile professional athlete to change his name to a gimmicky name. Los Angeles Lakers small forward Ron Artest said he was inspired to have his name legally changed to Metta World Peace in September 2011 by the success Chad Johnson had with the name Chad Ochocinco.

Johnson signed a one-year contract with Miami in June after the New England Patriots cut him.