The moment you learn you are to be a parent, the name game begins. From the regal George to the hipster Pabst, parents look for names that reflect their family values and traditions.
In soccer-loving clans, it’s easy to drift towards a Leo or a Cristiano, hoping your child will channel their namesake's scoring abilities.
Americans love thinking they found the PERFECT name that’s unique but not weird, strong but still reflects intelligence, traditional but not painfully obscure. The USMNT has had a couple Dicks (Hall & Spalding), but both rockstars Elvis (Comrie) and Ringo (Cantillo) emerged in the 80s. There has been more than one Helmut (Bicek, Kofler, Michel), but only a single Scoop (Stanisic). Otherwise, the most popular names in U.S. Soccer are not altogether unexpected. Here are the most popular names from the USMNT between 1916 and 2015:
Top 10 most common names from USMNT soccer, 1916-2015 (Image: Jamie Bartlett, The18.com)
If as a parent you truly want to show other parents that you are a soccer aficionado, then why not try a good professional footballer baby name? Compiled in the figure below are the 12 most common names across the Bundesliga, English Premier League, La Liga and Major League Soccer.
The top 12 most popular names from 4 professional soccer leagues: Bundesliga, Premier League, La Liga, MLS (IMage: Jamie Bartlett, The18.com)
The winner is some form of Michael, closely followed by Steven and David. Sebastian landed in the top 10 in all but La Liga.
The most popular name for each major league was as follows:
Bundesliga - Maximillian
English Premier League - Steven
La Liga - Sergio
MLS - Michael
That said, sometimes a Hulk or a Herculez can go far on just marketing potential.
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