Erling Haaland is the reason behind surprising baby trend in Peru
When it comes to baby names, some parents look to family traditions. Others take inspiration from trends, songs or TV shows. Then there are the parents in Peru.
The 2026 FIFA World cup has inspired plenty of passionate fans over the past few weeks, but in Peru, it has also sparked a rather surprising baby name trend.
According to Peru’s National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC), more than 500 babies have been named after Norwegian football legend Erling Haaland.
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Census records show that, over the course of the 2026 World Cup, 468 babies have been given ‘Haaland’ as one of their given names, while a further 91 have been registered as having ‘Erling Haaland’ as their given name.
Yep, hundreds of parents have looked at their newborn and thought: “You know what? Erling Haaland has a nice ring to it.”
The trend has become so widespread that RENIEC spokesperson Iván Torres had to come and speak to Television Panamericana about it, joking ‘Haaland is Peruvian now too.’
And it turns out that this trend isn’t even unusual.
Torres explained that every so often, Peru sees a huge wave of babies named after football stars.
“Different football stars serve as inspiration for Peruvians to register their children with these names,” he said.
In fact, BBC News reports that more than 30,000 people in Peru have ‘Neymar’ as one of their given names, while over 3,000 have ‘Messi’. More than 1,000 have been given the name ‘Ronaldo’ and over 200 have ‘Mbappe’ as one of their given names.
But, why Erling Haaland?
For anyone who hasn’t been glued to football this summer, Haaland has quickly become one of the biggest stars in the game.
The striker was already one of football's biggest stars thanks to his incredible goalscoring record with Manchester City, his undeniable talent on the pitch and, of course, his signature ponytail.
But the 2026 FIFA World Cup has taken his popularity to a whole new level.
Fans around the world have been glued to their screens watching the 6ft 5in forward bulldoze through defenders, score goal after goal and help Norway reach the quarter-finals.
Away from the pitch, supporters have also been getting to know a different side of Haaland after discovering his YouTube channel, where he's been documenting his time in the US throughout the tournament, while his Instagram has been winning people over with its surprisingly funny posts.
So, although Norway’s World Cup campaign is over, it’s safe to say Haaland has left his mark on this year’s tournament.
Long after the final whistle blows on Sunday, there’ll be hundreds of little Haalands running around Peru!
Topics: Erling Haaland, World Cup, Football
Ali Condon