People only just realising Hulk Hogan’s real name following his death aged 71

People on social media are now just realising what American professional wrestler Hulk Hogan's real name is after news of his death broke yesterday.

On 24 July, it was reported that Hogan had passed away with his family later confirming the news in a statement to US Weekly.

The Clearwater Police Department said on their Facebook page that he'd suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida and was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Tributes for the late WWE Hall of Famer have since poured in from across the globe, including from WWE which said in a statement not long after the news broke: "WWE is saddened to learn WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has passed away.

"One of pop culture’s most recognisable figures, Hogan helped WWE achieve global recognition in the 1980s. WWE extends its condolences to Hogan’s family, friends, and fans."

The news broke on Thursday (24 July) that WWE star, Hulk Hogan, had passed away (Paul Kane / Stringer / Getty Images)

The likes of United States president Donald Trump himself has also since paid tribute to his 'great friend' on his social media site, Truth Social, where he described Hogan as 'strong, tough, smart, but with the biggest heart'.

Now, despite the later wrestler having a dedicated fanbase from his decades-spanning career, many of them actually didn't know that his real name wasn't actually Hulk Hogan.

One X user penned: "Y'all do know Hulk Hogan’s real name wasn’t Hulk Hogan right?"

"I’m not gonna lie to y'all... I thought Hulk Hogan was his real name," confessed a second, while a third chimed in: "Hulk Hogan passes away and its the first time I heard his real name lol."

Yep, Hulk's real name is actually Terry Bollea. But how did he come about getting such a moniker?

Hulk Hogan's real name is actually Terry Bollea (Chip Somodevilla / Staff / Getty Images)

Well, it was inspired by the Marvel character The Incredible Hulk.

An obituary shared by WWE explained the history behind the stage name, revealing that it was only after appearing on a local talk show in Memphis with TV’s Incredible Hulk, Lou Ferrigno, that he began calling himself Terry 'The Hulk' Boulder because he was so much larger than Ferrigno.

He then first appeared in WWE in 1979 and was named Hulk Hogan by Vincent J. McMahon, a prominent American professional wrestling promoter who is best known for founding the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which later became the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and then the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), now known as WWE.