Hundreds of Newborns in Peru Have Been Named in Honor of This Foreign World Cup Player

After helping Norway secure their first qualification for the FIFA World Cup in 28 years, leading them all the way to the quarter-finals, Erling Haaland is unsurprisingly the toast of his home country.

Thanks to the 6-foot-5 striker's skills and Scandinavian charisma, Haaland has become the biggest star of the tournament on social media, adding 30 million of his now-70 million followers on Instagram in the past month alone. However, even Haaland's talents and star quality seem a strange fit for the nation of Peru, which didn't qualify for this year's World Cup.

According to a report by EuroNews, 468 newborns in the South American country have been named "Haaland," after the 25-year-old, according to Ivan Torres, a spokesperson for Peru's civil registry, RENIEC. 91 of these registered babies bear the full name Erling Haaland on their birth certificates.

"Haaland is now Peruvian too," Torres said, basing the announcement on recent data from 30,000 births in the country. Torres also noted that one baby was called "Mundial" - Spanish-language slang for "World Cup."

This summer, 3,402 Peruvians have been named after Argentine icon Lionel Messi, which is unsurprising, given that Argentina is also in South America. However, it is another neighboring country, Brazil, that tops the list for this Summer's biggest soccer inspiration for baby names, thanks to Neymar, with 33,809 reported namesakes on the registry.

Although Haaland was beaten on the list by more established names, with players hailing from neighboring countries, it is indisputable that the younger player has had a significant impact on football fandom and wider culture in a short space of time - particularly impressive, given Norway's geographical distance from Peru, as well his growing American fanbase.

Recently, the distinctively Norwegian-looking player paid a visit to a local business in Dallas, Texas, taking some viral photos and images for his social media channels and vlogs. The athlete, seen rocking a cowboy hat and a "Y'all Can Kiss My Dallas" t-shirt, won over even more U.S. fans when he was seen carrying a whiskey-holding taxidermy raccoon from the Lone Star State on his way home to Norway.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jul 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published July 18, 2026 at 10:40 PM.