Peru’s identity registry has recorded a burst of newborn names tied to Erling Haaland ahead of Norway’s World Cup quarter-final against England. The numbers are striking: 468 people in the country bear Haaland’s surname, and 91 infants were registered with the full name Erling Haaland.
The search interest around this soccer score is tied to the World Cup itself. Haaland has scored seven times in four appearances in the 2026 World Cup, and he made both goals in Norway’s victory against Brazil, a run that helped carry Norway into its first-ever World Cup quarter-final.
Most of the Peruvian newborns named after Haaland were registered in the weeks after the World Cup kicked off, and the surge grew again when Norway advanced to the quarter-finals. That timing matters because it shows the naming trend was not random or delayed; it moved with the tournament, rising as Haaland’s profile rose with it.
Ivan Torres said different football stars inspire Peruvians to register their children with those names, and Peru’s record supports that claim in more than one direction. The country has already logged 3,402 people named Messi, 292 people with the full name Lionel Messi, 1,185 namesakes of Cristiano Ronaldo, 1,241 people called Yamal, and 33,809 people named after Neymar. In that company, Haaland’s surge stands out less as a one-off than as the newest example of a long-running habit that only becomes visible when a player catches fire on the biggest stage.
That makes the next step easy to see. Norway are set to face England in a World Cup quarter-final on Saturday, and if Haaland keeps producing on the field, Peru’s registry may not be the last place his name turns up.
