Pele, Kaka: Why many Brazilian footballers have just one name

The likes of Pele, Ronaldo, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Alisson, Hugo, Neto, Ederson and many more Selecao players are noted to follow this trajectory.

Footballers in Brazil are not only uniquely talented and gifted, they are also very captivating when it comes to their names.

For many Brazilian players, it is rare to see their real names on the back of their shirts, let alone know their real names.

While it is easy to see players from other countries showcasing their surnames at the back of their jerseys, many Brazilians prefer to have just one name.

Intriguingly, those names they select and have printed on the back of their jerseys are neither their first names nor surnames.

The likes of Pele, Ronaldo, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Alisson, Hugo, Neto, Ederson and many more Selecao players are noted to follow this trajectory.

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But have you ever wondered why most of these Brazilians got just one name?

There is no cultural reasoning behind the selection of just one name by most of these Brazilian players.

However, the most logical reasoning to this is that, most of them prefer just one name because their full names are usually complex to mention.

For instance, Manchester United's Fred goes by Frederico Rodrigues de Paula Santos, Neymar’s full name is Neymar da Silva Santos Junior and Barcelona’s Arthur’s full name is Arthur Henrique Ramos de Oliveira Melo.

So due to the complexity of their names, these players usually prefer to shorten them by picking a simple name.

But there are also those who prefer to use their nicknames rather than real names.

That explains why many Brazilian players have the suffix –inho to their names. Examples are Fernandinho, Jorginho, Robinho – these are all nicknames.

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"Brazilian football is an international advert for the cordiality of Brazilian life because of its players' names," Alex Bellos said 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.”

But the truth is that it is not only footballers who prefer to follow this trend, most Brazilians in general prefer using just one name.