What’s in a name? A victory foretold or a homage to greatness past?
Across South America, a legion of pint-sized Kylians and Neymars will be following the fortunes of the stars to whom they owe their names when the World Cup kicks off on Thursday.
But in a year’s time, depending on which players shine, expectant parents may be leaning towards Lamine (Yamal, Spain), Ousmane (Dembele, France), Harry (Kane, England) or Vitinha (Portugal).
In Ecuador, which is taking part in its fifth World Cup, the most popular footballers’ names are not those of local stars such as Kendry Paez or Willian Pacho, a two-time Champions League winner with Paris Saint-Germain.
Instead it is Brazil’s all-time record scorer Neymar, playing at his fourth and probably last World Cup, who tops the board, with 3,847 namesakes, the country’s civil registry said Wednesday.
Kylian Mbappe, the wunderkind who led France to victory at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, is second, with over 2,800 children bearing his name, ahead of James (Rodriguez, Colombia’s captain), in third with 2,136 nods.
Argentine and Portuguese greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo also have (their first and last) names writ large in Ecuadoran family history.
The country boasts 1,549 little Lionels, 38 Messis, 178 Cristianos and 1,006 Ronaldos.
In Colombia, the order is reversed, with 836 children named Kylian or Mbappe, ahead of 269 Neymars and 220 Cristianos or Ronaldos, figures from 2022 show.
Neymar unsurprisingly, has also inspired a generation of parents in his homeland, with 2,443 children named after the player who has been an integral part of three World Cup campaigns, according to a 2022 census.
But five-time champions Brazil also have a soft spot for Kylian or Killian, with over 400 bearing his name.
In football-mad Argentina, Lionel had a major moment in 2023, the year after Messi cemented his legacy by leading his country to its third title, but the name has since dipped in popularity.
In Chile, one family made national headlines in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup when it welcomed a newborn named Griezmann Mbappe, after France’s former striker and current star forward respectively.
The young Griezmann found himself in illustrious company: his brother was called James Modric (a mash-up of James Rodriguez and Luka Modric) while his cousins included an Andres Iniesta (legendary former Spain midfielder), a Leonel Messi and a Neymar Ronaldo.
