From Mahatma Gandhi to Elvis Marley: The 11 most bizarre Brazilian footballer names

Updated: 19 Nov 2023 18:38 GMT
5 min read

Football owes a tremendous amount to Brazil. The South American nation has provided countless superstars such as Pele, Zico and Neymar, numerous legendary goals, matches and moments on the pitch, as well as the most historically admired style of play known as joga bonito.

But Brazil has also given us some of the funniest, strangest and most outright bizarre player names football or any sport has ever seen.

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Whether paying homage to Pokemon characters or well–known musicians and influential political figures, Brazil wins the gold medal for introducing the world to some fabulous names. Here's FootballTransfers’ selection of the most peculiar names in Brazilian football:

John Kennedy

John Kennedy sadly does not have the ‘F’ as a middle name, having been born as John Kennedy Batista de Souza, but it’s still a spectacular nickname nonetheless. The 21-year-old striker scored the winning goal in extra time to ensure that Fluminense won its maiden Copa Libertadores title against Boca Juniors in 2023, amid social media making references to the 35th president of the United States. It wasn’t long after that Kennedy was sent off for a second yellow, however, for his topless celebration.

💥⚽🇭🇺 One week on from a Copa-winning moment from John Kennedy! @FluminenseFC | #GloriaEterna pic.twitter.com/WY9IDB9lAz
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@TheLibertadores) November 11, 2023

John Lennon

That’s right. Another footballer named after a legendary John who was assasinated. John Lennon Silva Santos, known as John Lennon or simply Lennon, plays for Caxias in the Brazilian Serie D as a right back. Lennon has his own Wikipedia page and we believe it’s there simply because of his bizarre name.

Rafael Scheidt

More of a name that sounds a bit iffy in the English context, Rafael Scheidt is a former player who emerged from Gremio at the same time as Ronaldinho. He joined Celtic, who were coached by John Barnes at the time, in 2000. However, he did not enjoy a great spell there and headed back to his home nation after a single season.

Tsunami

Tsunami was the nickname given to one Wenderson de Freitas Soares. His moniker was provided because of his unflinching style of play, aggressive tackles, and general temperament.

Allan

Allan, or Alan, is typically associated with those in their late fifties who go down the pub on Thursday nights for Flight Night. The midfielder enjoyed his best years at Napoli, playing as a holding midfielder. He spent two years with Everton before heading to Emirati club Al Wahda.

Maicon

Maicon Douglas Sisenando, known as simply Maicon, is among the most well-known players on this list. He was at one time considered the best right back in the world during his spell with Inter, playing an important role in them winning the treble in 2010. On the face of it, his name isn’t so special in that his parents named him after Hollywood star Michael Douglas as they were big fans of the actor. But the trouble was they allegedly spelled his name wrong and mixed up the first and second names on the birth certificate. Well, that’s how the story goes anyway.

13 years ago today, Maicon scored THAT goal as Brazil beat North Korea 3-1 at the 2010 World Cup 🚀🇧🇷pic.twitter.com/P58F3Vp365
— Fanzine Football (@Fanzine_com) June 15, 2023

Yago Pikachu

Yago Pikachu is a nickname rather than a given name. When asked about it in 2018, Galybson Yago Souza Lisboa explainen that the name was given to him as early as nine years old. "It's that thing, isn't it? When you don't like the nickname, that's when it catches on. It's the worst."

Mahatma Gandhi

Another Brazilian named after an assassinated legend! Mahatma, known as Mahatma Gandhi Heberpio Mattos Pires, was named after the nonviolent protestor Mohandas K. Gandhi who helped lead India to their independence from the British. Mahatma Gandhi the footballer embarked on his career with the Brazilian top-flight side Atletico Goianiense before playing for Trindade, Goiania, and Ipora. There was the story that he never committed a foul in that time, but that is simply untrue.

Elvis Marley

Elvis Marley Aparecido Bittencourt, often referred to as Elvinho or Little Elv, was provided his name owing to his mother's love of reggae music, while his father favored rock 'n' roll. As you can see, a compromise was reached between them and we have one Elvis Marley.

Marx Lenin

The name Marx Lenin dos Santos Goncalves allegedly has nothing to do with Karl Marx or Vladimir Lenin. According to the player, his name was chosen as his mother liked the sound of 'Marx' as another way of spelling his father's name, Marques, while 'Lenin' was just thrown in there. Lenin was in Flamengo's U20 team to Akron Togliatti in the Russian second tier in 2020 but has since been released.

Creedence Clearwater

Creedence Clearwater Couto's parents opted for a name inspired by Creedence Clearwater Revival, the American rock band. Clearwater rather goes by 'Paulista' because it's much simpler to say - which is more than reasonable to be honest.