Peru is witnessing a wave of newborns named Haaland. In Argentina, Lionel has shot up the rankings, while reports from Mexico indicate that a girl was named after three football players! Parents in Latin America have already begun naming a new generation of babies after 2026 World Cup stars. Hundreds of newborns in Peru have been named after stars, including Norwegian Erling Haaland, while the number of births registered with names inspired by football icons such as Argentine Lionel Messi, Brazilian Neymar, and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo has reached around 30,000, according to Ivan Torres, spokesperson for Peru's civil registry, who spoke to Panamericana TV last week. Torres said, 'Haaland is now also from Peru.' He noted that one newborn was simply named 'Mundial,' the Spanish abbreviation for World Cup, even though Peru did not qualify for the finals. Several Latin Americans, whose national teams either did not participate in the tournament or were eliminated, refrained from supporting Argentina, which is widely seen as overly inclined toward European perspectives, and instead directed their support to the Norwegian team, which gained many new fans due to the controversy surrounding the 'Viking issue' and its first-ever quarterfinal appearance led by Haaland. In Mexico, which co-hosted the World Cup with the United States and Canada, a photo of a birth certificate went viral on social media, showing a baby girl named Kynona Yessizidra Morita Haaland Guevara, referencing Mexican stars Julián Quiñones and Gilberto Mora, in addition to the Norwegian striker. The name Yessizidra is a play on 'Y si sí?' or 'What if?', the optimistic chant Mexican fans repeated until their team's exit against England in the Round of 16 of the ongoing tournament. Mexican authorities did not immediately verify the certificate's authenticity. In Argentina, the names Enzo, Emiliano, and Lionel topped the list of most popular boys' names in the Salta region, in the northeast of the country, during the week before the final match, according to local authorities, who attributed the trend to the 'World Cup phenomenon.' The Argentine team, set to face Spain in the final on Sunday, includes midfielder Enzo Fernández, goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, and legendary captain Messi. Fabiola Molina, host of the podcast 'Sin Manual para Padres' (No Manual for Parents), broadcast from Mexico City, said, 'This phenomenon has a long history in Latin America.' She added, 'Years ago, when the American boy band Backstreet Boys was at its peak, a group of women were naming their sons Kevin and Brian, so it's very common in countries like Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina to find someone named Brian González, for example.' Molina continued, 'This is funny, but it can also be harmful to children when they grow up, because just because your name is Messi or Lionel doesn't mean you'll grow up to be a standout football player.'