- Football’s World Cup Effect Reaches Baby-Name Registers
Football’s influence is increasingly extending beyond stadiums, shirt sales and television audiences into one of the most personal decisions families make: what to name a child.
New analysis commissioned by Live Football Tickets suggests that several footballer-linked names rose sharply in England and Wales after the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with Jude, Enzo, Emiliano, Kylian and Lionel all recording notable increases in baby-name registrations in the years following the tournament.
The research, based on Office for National Statistics annual baby-name records from 2019 to 2025, compared registrations in the three years before thce Qatar tournament with the three years after it. The ONS dataset tracks ranks and counts of baby names for boys and girls in England and Wales from 1996 to 2025, providing the underlying basis for analysing name trends over time.
The clearest post-tournament surge was recorded by Enzo, the name shared by Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernández, who won the Young Player Award at Qatar 2022 as Argentina lifted the World Cup. Registrations for Enzo rose from an annual average of 317 between 2019 and 2021 to 588 between 2023 and 2025, representing an increase of 85.00%.
In 2025 alone, 617 boys in England and Wales were named Enzo, placing the name 84th nationally, according to the analysis.
Jude, associated with England midfielder Jude Bellingham, recorded an 80.00% increase. The name averaged 1,273 annual registrations between 2019 and 2021, before rising to 2,290 per year between 2023 and 2025.
Jude was already gaining popularity before the World Cup, but its rise appears to have accelerated alongside Bellingham’s emergence as one of England’s leading footballers. The name moved from 1,482 registrations and 40th place in 2021 to 2,177 registrations and 15th place in 2023. It reached 11th in 2024 before settling at 14th in 2025, when 2,153 boys were given the name.
The trend points to football’s increasingly powerful role in shaping popular culture. Major tournaments do not merely create national memories; they elevate players into household names and embed them in the everyday language of families, children and communities.
That influence appears strongest where the name is already accessible, familiar or easily transferable across cultures. Jude, for example, benefits from being a traditional name with a modern football association. Enzo, by contrast, reflects a more direct tournament effect, with Argentina’s World Cup triumph giving the name wider emotional and cultural visibility.
Other names linked to international football stars also rose after Qatar. Emiliano, associated with Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, increased by 75.00%, moving from an annual average of nine registrations before the tournament to 16 afterwards. In 2025, 20 boys were named Emiliano, more than three times the six registrations recorded in 2019.
Kylian, linked to France forward Kylian Mbappé, rose by 68.00%. Registrations averaged 38 annually between 2019 and 2021, before climbing to 64 per year between 2023 and 2025. The name peaked at 92 registrations in 2023, after Mbappé scored a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final.
Lionel, long associated with Argentina captain Lionel Messi, increased by 39.00%, rising from a pre-tournament average of 21 registrations to 30 per year after Argentina’s World Cup victory. Registrations reached 38 in 2024, the highest level in the seven-year period analysed.
Cristiano, associated with Cristiano Ronaldo, recorded a more modest 7.00% increase, moving from an annual average of 10 registrations before the tournament to 11 afterwards.
The findings suggest that footballers do not influence naming trends equally. Tournament success, media visibility, emotional connection and the usability of the name all appear to matter. A player may be globally famous, but the name must still feel acceptable, attractive and culturally adaptable to parents.
The analysis also points to the growing commercial and cultural power of football’s new generation. Names linked to emerging stars may not yet have large registration numbers, but their movements are already being watched.
Lamine, associated with Spain’s Lamine Yamal, rose from six registrations in 2024 to 11 in 2025, an increase of 83.00%. The absolute numbers remain small, but the rise suggests that breakout stars can begin influencing name choices quickly, particularly after major international tournaments.
Live Football Tickets predicts that Jude, Kylian, Lamine and Erling are among the names most likely to benefit from the 2026 World Cup. Jude remains the strongest contender because of its already large base, while Kylian could receive another boost from Mbappé’s continued global profile.
Erling, associated with Norway striker Erling Haaland, remains extremely rare in England and Wales, falling below the ONS publication threshold of three registrations in 2025, according to the analysis. But reports of babies in Peru being named after Haaland during the 2026 World Cup underline how football fame can travel in unexpected cultural directions.
Maarten Zomerdijk, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Live Football Tickets, said football’s influence goes well beyond the match itself.
“Football’s influence extends far beyond the final whistle,” he said. “Major tournaments create unforgettable moments and produce players who become household names, and our figures suggest that some of that admiration may even influence the names parents choose for their children.”
He added that names such as Jude and Enzo are now closely associated with some of football’s biggest recent moments, while young players such as Lamine and Kobbie are already capturing supporters’ imaginations.
“As a new generation of players emerges at the 2026 World Cup, we could see even more football-inspired names appearing in homes, schools and junior teams in the years ahead,” he said.
The research should be read carefully. It does not prove that every parent who chose Jude or Enzo did so because of Bellingham or Fernández. Baby-name trends are shaped by culture, family tradition, religion, celebrity, migration, media and sound. But the timing and scale of the increases suggest that football has become part of the naming environment.
The broader significance is cultural. Footballers today are not only athletes. They are global brands, social media personalities, fashion figures and symbols of national identity. When they perform on the World Cup stage, their names become attached to emotion, aspiration and memory.
For parents, choosing a footballer-linked name may not always be an explicit act of fandom. It may simply reflect the way a name becomes more familiar, more admired and more socially visible after a player’s defining moment.
That is why the rise of Jude and Enzo matters. It shows how quickly sporting narratives can move from the pitch into family life. A goal, a trophy, a final, a breakout performance or a national campaign can change not only the market value of a player, but also the cultural value of a name.
Football has always shaped identity through clubs, flags and heroes. Now, the data suggests, it is also helping shape the next generation’s birth certificates.
