The football craze in Peru has reached new heights as hundreds of newborns have been named after the Norwegian star striker, Erling Haaland. According to official data from the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC) in Peru, the Manchester City forward's stellar performance at the World Cup has triggered a massive naming trend across the South American nation.
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Subscribe Sekarang →Haaland, the 25-year-old goal-scoring machine, has taken the tournament by storm, netting seven goals in just four matches. His clinical performances spearheaded a historic 2-1 victory for Norway against Brazil, booking the Scandinavian side a spot in the quarter-finals. This historic feat apparently struck a deep chord with passionate Peruvian football enthusiasts who chose to honor the striker through their children.
Based on reports from the civil registry, a total of 468 Peruvian infants have been given the name Haaland, while an additional 91 newborns have been registered with the full name "Erling Haaland". "The great stars of football serve as an inspiration to Peruvians to register their children with catchy and famous names," commented Ivan Torres, a spokesperson for the civil registry service, during an interview with Panamericana Television on Friday.
From editorial monitoring, it is observed that the surge in registrations closely correlated with Norway's progression in the tournament. The registry spokesperson highlighted that the majority of these names were recorded in the days following the tournament's kickoff, with the numbers spiking significantly right after Haaland scored a crucial brace to eliminate Brazil. Norway is now set to face England on Saturday to compete for a spot in the semi-finals.
This phenomenon is not entirely unprecedented in Peruvian football culture, which has a long-standing history of naming children after global icons. Editorial team observations note that the registry currently counts 3,402 individuals named Messi—with 292 bearing the full name Lionel Messi—alongside 1,185 named after Cristiano Ronaldo, 1,241 inspired by Barcelona's rising star Lamine Yamal, and a staggering 33,809 individuals named in honor of Brazilian superstar Neymar.