According to the list, 738 babies were registered with the names Pelé, Rey Pelé, Edson Arantes or Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the full name of the three-time soccer world champion, by the end of 2022.

The Brazilian star died on December 29 at the age of 82 and was mourned this Monday at the stadium of his former club Santos, where thousands of people came to see him off.

New President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will lead the tributes as Brazil says its last goodbye to its most famous son at a 24-hour wake on Tuesday.

Among Peruvian girls, 551 were christened Queen Elizabeth, Elizabeth Segunda or Elizabeth II, in honor of the British monarch who died in September after 70 years on the throne.

Despite Pelé’s passing, the most popular celebrity name used by Peruvian parents was that of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, with Ronaldo or his full name chosen 31,583 times.

Soccer was an enduring theme, with 371 babies named Leo Messi or Messi, for the Argentine world champion, and 229 Mbappe or Kylian Mbappe for the French star.

There were also 733 Mavericks, after Tom Cruise’s character from last year’s sequel movie Top Gun. Among female names, Rubi topped the list with 24,980, followed by 1,787 girls named after Colombian singer Shakira.

There were also 250 Merlinas, as the youngest daughter of the fictional Addams family, Wednesday, is known in some Latin American countries. The character got her own spinoff series on Netflix in 2022.

A boy born last year was named after billionaire Elon Musk, while another was christened “Qatar” after the host country of the 2022 World Cup.

AFP