91 Peruvian Children Registered as Erling Haaland

Ninety-one children in Peru were registered with the full name Erling Haaland, the country’s civil registry said.

Peru’s National Registry of Identification and Civil Status, known as RENIEC, also counted 468 people in the country with the surname Haaland. The numbers were making the rounds by July 14, 2026, with the World Cup in full swing and Norway’s star striker at the center of it.

RENIEC spokesperson Iván Torres joked about the trend in an interview with Peruvian broadcaster Televisión Panamericana. “Haaland is Peruvian too,” he said, Euronews reported.

Torres said most of the registrations came in the weeks after the World Cup began. They climbed especially after Norway advanced to the quarterfinals, T13 reported.

RENIEC’s figures refer to people registered with Haaland’s surname or full name.

The World Cup run behind the names

Haaland scored seven goals in his first World Cup, Yahoo Sports reported. The Manchester City player helped Norway beat Brazil earlier in the tournament before the team lost 2–1 to England in the quarterfinals.

Peru is more than 6,500 miles from Norway, and its own team did not qualify for the tournament.

Pubity went further on X, writing: “Peru is now the country with the most babies named after Erling Haaland in the world.”

Torres put the trend down to football fandom more broadly. “Different soccer stars serve as inspiration for Peruvians to register their children with these names,” he said, Andina reported.

Haaland versus the legends

Haaland is a newcomer on a list where the old guard dominates. Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo each have around 30,000 registrations in Peru, Reuters reported.

Euronews said Neymar and Messi remain among Peru’s favorite football-inspired names.

The World Cup left at least one other mark on Peruvian birth records. One newborn was named “Mundial,” the Spanish shorthand for the tournament.