Neymar, Pele, Kaka - Why do many Brazilian footballers have just one name? | Goal.com UK (2024)

Some of the most iconic Brazilian internationals are known by a singular nickname – so why do certain players decide to go with just one name?

Brazilian footballers such as Pele, Ronaldo, Kaka and Neymar have long since followed in the tradition of going by just a singular name.

Unlike most Western nations where players are known by their first and surname – with their surname printed on the back of their shirt – there are a handful of the past and present of the Selecao who are known by just one name.

So why do certain Brazilians decide to forego traditional nomenclature?

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Which Brazilian internationals go by just one name?

Neymar, Pele, Kaka - Why do many Brazilian footballers have just one name? | Goal.com UK (1)

Brazilian footballers have a trend of going by just one name instead of a first name and surname, as is the tradition with other typically Western cultural naming systems.

But the likes of Alisson, Hugo, Neto and Ederson – all Brazilian goalkeepers who have been called up to the squad within the past year – all go with a singular name.

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Brazilian legends such as Pele, Ronaldo, Kaka and Ronaldinho have also gone by singular titles.

The Liverpool player's full name is Alisson Ramses Becker, while the City shot-stopper is known formally asEderson Moraes.

One of the most popular modern-day uses of the name is Neymar – commonly known as Neymar Jr – but whose full name isNeymar da Silva Santos Junior.

There are countless more examples. Chelsea forward Willian is known formally asWillian Borges da Silva; Manchester United's Fred goes byFrederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos;Carlos Henrique Casimiro is more commonly known as Casemiro and new Barcelona arrival Arthur's full name isArthur Henrique Ramos de Oliveira Melo.

Why do certain Brazilian footballers go by one name?

In short, there is no specific cultural reasoning for certain Brazilian footballers to choose to go by just one name – when most Brazilians do so anyway.

Typically it is due to the fact that most Brazilian full names are complicated and long, which lead footballers to shorten their names or choose a nickname in order to be more easily recognised by their international fans.

Brazilian football fans also christen their football ideals with their own personal nickname to create a more personal and unique bond – something that is also done in England, when fans affectionately call Paul Gascoigne 'Gazza' and the likes of John Aldridge 'Aldo'.

Givanildo Vieira de Sousa simply revealed that he loved reading comics growing up and was a fan of a certain green Marvel superhero, which led to his father calling him 'Hulk'.

"Brazilian football is an international advert for the cordiality of Brazilian life because of its players'names,"Alex Bellos writes in the book Futebol: The Brazilian Way of Life.

“Calling someone by their first name is a demonstration of intimacy — calling someone by their nickname more so.”

It's not just Brazilian footballers who have just one name – most Brazilians do, and a lot of them choose their names based on their first name, last name, a contraction of both, or an unrelated nickname.

"We don't use the last names,"stated Lyris Wiedemann, a native of Porto Alegre who used to coordinatethe Portuguese Language Program at Stanford University in California.

"It reflects a trait in the culture that's more personalised. We care about the person, and the person is not the family name. It's who they are."

Brazil, which used to be a colony of Portugal, still use Portuguese naming conventions. With these customs, people are given four names – their given name, which is often two to include a saint's name and/or a preposition (such as da, das, do, dos or de), the mother's last name, and then the father's last name.

In certain areas in Brazil, a common practice is to create a nickname based on the parents' first names. Rosangela and Edilson, for example, would call their daughter Edisangela.

What is Pele's real name?

Neymar, Pele, Kaka - Why do many Brazilian footballers have just one name? | Goal.com UK (4)Getty Images

Pele, arguably the most famed Brazilian footballer, has no link to his full real name –Edson Arantes do Nascimento.

The story of his own name etymology is that he couldn't pronounce of his then-favourite footballer, Vasco de Gama goalkeeper Bile, and so he turned it into Pele.

In his autobiography, Pelestated he had no idea what the name means, nor did his old friends.

Apart from the assertion that the name is derived from that of Bile, and that it isHebrewfor "miracle",the name Pelehas no known meaning inPortuguese.

Neymar, Pele, Kaka - Why do many Brazilian footballers have just one name? | Goal.com UK (2024)

FAQs

Why do so many Brazilian soccer players go by one name? ›

It reflects a trait in the culture that's more personalised. We care about the person, and the person is not the family name. It's who they are.” Arguably the best Brazilian footballer of all time, Pele, went by one name for the large majority of his life.

Why does Neymar only have one name? ›

are known by a single name, often their first name or a nickname, such as Ronaldo, Pele, Neymar, Ronaldinho, Marcello, Rivaldo and many more. In Brazil, using only one name is a symbol. of friendliness and familiarity.

Why don't Brazilians have first names? ›

In Portuguese tradition a person has four names, which leads to Brazilian players adopting nicknames to avoid a mouthful or for them to be more recognisable by their fans.

Why do some footballers have their first name? ›

In the 1990s, the idea of a player having anything but their last name on the back of their shirt seemed ludicrous, yet the idea has developed to include first names and even nicknames (Kun Aguero, Chicharito etc) as England's top flight has relaxed its standing.

Why do Brazilians have their first name on jerseys? ›

Unlike most other countries, these names are also used on the back of their jerseys, as opposed to the more common use of a player's surname. The use of first names and nicknames is a Brazilian tradition that dates back to the country's days as a colony of Portugal.

Who has more titles Brazil or Argentina? ›

With 15 titles each, Argentina and Uruguay are the most successful Copa América teams. Brazil has nine. The other champions are Paraguay, Peru and Chile, with two titles each, and Bolivia, and Colombia, who have each won one. The current champion is Argentina, having beaten Brazil in the 2021 final.

Why is Neymar just called Neymar? ›

Neymar's full name is Neymar da Silva Santos, Jr.

The rest of it, not so much. He was named after his father Neymar Santos Sr., a soccer player himself until his early 30s who now manages his son's career as an advisor.

Why does Neymar and Messi have the same number? ›

When Lionel Messi arrived in Paris, his favoured no. 10 shirt was occupied by Neymar, and it still is. That's why he has been wearing the no.

What is Brazil's original name? ›

Portugal's new possession was initially called Vera Cruz (“True Cross”), but it was soon renamed Brazil because of the copious amounts of brazilwood (pau-brasil) found there that yielded a valuable red dye.

Why do brazilians have 3 names? ›

Surnames. A Portuguese name is typically composed of one or two given names, and a number of family names (rarely one, but often two or three, sometimes more). The first additional names are usually the mother's family surname(s) and the father's family surname(s).

Can you have your first name on your soccer jersey? ›

But also note that players don't have to have their last name on the jersey. Some opt in for a first name (ex, Darwin Nunuez) and some a nickname (ex, Pele), so it's possible a player could opt in for such a format voluntarily.

Which name is older soccer or football? ›

The word "soccer" comes from the use of the term "association football" in Britain, and goes back 200 years. In the early 1800s, a bunch of British universities took "football" — a medieval game — and started playing their own versions of it, all under different rules.

Can footballers put any name on their shirt? ›

Players may be identified on their shirts by means of their surname and/or first name, or a UEFA-approved nickname. The name by which a player is identified on their shirt must correspond with the name entered on the player list.

Why do Brazilians all have nicknames? ›

FROM the president to the kid kicking a ball around in the street, everyone has a nickname in Brazil. It's part of the culture in the South American country, which stems from the days of Portuguese colonisation. In Portuguese tradition a person has four names - so nicknames are common to avoid the potential mouthful.

What is the Brazilian naming culture? ›

Brazilian Culture

Common given names are after older relatives (such as a great-grandparent) or after Catholic saints. Brazil has adopted Portuguese naming patterns, meaning that it is typical for people to trace their ancestry back through both their maternal and paternal lines.

Why do Brazilian names end in inho? ›

The suffix “inho” is used in Brazilian culture to emphasize “smallness, shortness, youth, fewness, etc.” It is similar to adding “junior” to someone's name. For instance, Ronaldinho means “l*ttle Ronaldo.”

Why does Nene only have one name? ›

Nenê was originally a nickname, not a given name. His real name was Maybyner Rodney Hilário. However, it is common for Brazilian athletes to be known by their nicknames rather than their birth names (think Pelé, Zico or Ronaldinho) and wear those nicknames on their official jerseys.

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