Givanildo Vieira de Souza, Hulk. Photo: Getty Images

With the World Cup underway, let’s have a look at Brazil's uncommon tradition in which many of the players are known simply by their first name, a variation of their first name, or a nickname.

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior is known around the world as Neymar, Frederico Chaves Guedes is better known as Fred, and Givanildo Vieira de Souza goes by the menacing nickname, Hulk.

Unlike most other countries, these names are also used on the back of their jerseys, as opposed to the more common use of a player's surname.

The use of first names and nicknames is a Brazilian tradition that dates back to the country's days as a colony of Portugal.

Alex Bellos, author of "Futebol, the Brazilian Way of Life," told the UK Telegraph that using just a first name or a nickname is much easier for children since most are named using the Portuguese tradition of using four names.

Lyris Wiedemann, a native of Porto Alegre, Brazil, who is now director of the Portuguese language program at Stanford in the US, said not using the last names is a trait in the culture that's more personalised. “We care about the person, and the person is not the family name. It's who they are."

This is why Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite is known as Kaka and Edson Arantes do Nascimento as Pele.

Wiedemann said in Portuguese tradition many people have four names - their given name, which is often two to include a saint's name; the mother's last name; and then the father's.

Learning just one name can be tough on a kid, so imagine the meltdown that mouthful could cause.

"If you were to use the last name, it's kind of more complicated," Wiedemann said.

When Ronaldo, he has the record for most goals scored in the World Cup, joined the Brazilian team, the squad already had a Ronaldo, a defender. So Ronaldo became Ronaldinho. Then another Ronaldinho came along, and they called him Ronaldinho Gaucho, for the area in Brazil where he was from.

Brazilians often pick up nicknames as kids, and they stick for life. Many are diminutives of first names, like the president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is known to all as Lula. Others are more random. Kaka got his nickname from his little brother, who couldn't pronounce Ricardo.

Brazilians don't see anything unusual in their use of first names and nicknames, it makes Brazil's team all the more appealing to those not used to being on such familiar terms. There's something about cheering for a team of regular Joes - and Michaels and Luises - rather than one filled with sterile-sounding last names.

"It feels like they're friends," Bellos said. "It feels like they're one of your gang."

Source: Telegraph/ Business Insider