Pi's full name is Piscine Molitor Patel. He was named in honor of his father's friend, Francis Adirubasamy, who was a very famous swimmer. He would often tell a story involving an Olympic swimming pool in Paris called the Piscine Molitor. Pi shortened his first name because kids at school started making fun of him and gave him a mean nickname. When Piscine starts calling himself Pi, it shows character development and how he is becoming more confident. It kind of foreshadows the major changes Pi is about to go through.
