Colombia registered South America's first baby named Erling Haaland Estrada Arrieta. Though born in 2023, the birth certificate went viral during the 2026 World Cup amid the striker's tournament success.
The naming trend started in Colombia's Caribbean region before triggering "Haalandmania" in Peru, where 91 infants share the full name Erling Haaland and 468 carry a variation. Meanwhile, a Norwegian couple named their daughter Erle (the feminine form of Erling) because she was born in the exact 86th minute that Haaland scored a World Cup-winning goal.
Despite the recent hype, Haaland trails legacy South American football icons in the registries by a massive margin. For context, Peru's national registry counts over 33,000 citizens named after Neymar and more than 3,400 named after Lionel Messi.