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Erling Haaland is perhaps the most recognisable striker at this World Cup. But while his five goals in three matches have come as no surprise, the name on the back of his shirt has caught many off guard.
The 25-year-old has ‘Haaland’ on the back of his shirts for his club side, Manchester City. But at Norway’s first major tournament since 2000, the name on the back of his shirt reads ‘Braut Haaland’.
‘Braut’ is the surname of Halaand’s mother, former professional heptathlete Gry Marita. Former Premier League defender Alf-Inge Haaland is the striker’s father.
Legally, his full name is Erling Braut Haaland. In Norway, middle names are often inherited family surnames, commonly from the mother’s side, allowing family names to be preserved across generations.
Haaland told the BBC earlier this year that he was proud of his mother, and the pair were pictured together holding the trophy after Manchester City’s Champions League title win in 2023.
While it is the biggest stage on which it has happened, the World Cup is not the first time Haaland has displayed his mother’s surname.
Early in his career, Haaland often went by the double surname before dropping ‘Braut’. He now reserves it in a football context for when he is representing his nation.
But he has not always sported ‘Braut’ for Norway, either.
Haaland only started using the full name recently (Fredrik Varfjell/NTB/AFP via Getty Images)
In their World Cup qualifying campaign, where the striker scored 16 goals in eight games, ‘Haaland’ occupied the back of his shirt for early matches against Estonia and Italy. He made the change last summer, with ‘Braut Haaland’ visible in the return fixtures as Norway clinched qualification.
Before the tournament, Haaland introduced himself to broadcasters as “Erling Braut Haaland,” and he uses his full name on some of his social media platforms.
“Around 60 per cent of Norwegians have a middle name that stems from their mother’s heritage,” Ivar Utne, a former linguistic professor at the University of Bergen, tells The Athletic.
“Middle names are more common in younger people, and many Norwegians shorten their names internationally for ease, but go by their full names back home.”
The use of maternal family names reflects broader changes in Norwegian naming conventions, where preserving both sides of a family’s identity has become increasingly common.
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“It is a lovely statement from Haaland as middle names are often forgotten in Norway, but he has made sure to pay tribute to his mother for his country,” Liv Birgit Christensen, author of Exploring Norwegian Genealogy, told The Athletic.
The dynamics are shifting. Roughly half of women in long-term relationships in Norway marry and, of those who do, around half take their husband’s surname. “That has fallen from 68 per cent in 1995, and, now, 46 per cent of those who do take their husband’s surname retain their maiden name as a middle name,” Christensen said.
Haaland is not the only player in the Norway ranks to add a maternal name to the back of their shirts. Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer has done something similar to Haaland. He wears ‘Ajer’ domestically but dons ‘Vassbakk Ajer’ for his country, as he has done since his international debut in 2018. The use of ‘Vassbakk’ is a tribute to his maternal grandfather, who passed away in 2017. His full name is Kristoffer Vassbakk Kopp Ajer.
Born in Leeds in 2000, Haaland was eligible to represent England but chose Norway — the country his father won 34 caps for and where the striker lived from the age of four. He has represented Norway at every age-group level since under-15.
His love for Norway is evident in the 34 and counting Instagram posts relating to the country since the end of the domestic season.
‘Haaland’ has become one of football’s most recognisable global brands, but on the biggest stage, representing his nation, it is ‘Braut Haaland’ that he has chosen for the world to see.
