Over 500 newborns named after Erling Haaland in Peru

Peru’s national identity registry has registered 468 newborns with "Haaland", while another 91 were given the full name "Erling Haaland" in the latest bout reflecting the Norwegian footballer's influence.

The notable increase was recognised after Haaland's performance at the World Cup, where scoring seven goals, including a decisive strike against Brazil in the knockout stage, before his team's exit.

Peru's National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (RENIEC) spokesman Iván Torres told Peruvian broadcaster Televisión Panamericana that football stars tend to set the trend in Peru when it comes to choosing names for newborns.

Haaland has not topped Peru's list, however, as Brazil's Neymar remains the undisputed leader with 33,809 namesakes, the most popular name in the South American country. 

Meanwhile, the Civil Registry lists 3,402 Peruvians called Messi, 292 of them officially registered as Lionel Messi.

Cristiano Ronaldo has 1,185 namesakes, and Lamine Yamal, Spain's young prodigy, has already prompted 1,241 Peruvians to adopt his surname as a first name. 

Although not in the thousands yet, Haaland's rising impact might lead to thousands more Peruvian babies walking with his name very soon.