How did Pele get his name? Why he went by a nickname and the Brazil legend’s real name at birth

Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the boy who became “Pele” was synonymous not only with the legend of the Selecao, but with football as a whole.

That has been captured in the outpouring of tributes following his death from multiple organ failure due to colon cancer at the age of 82. A public wake will be held at the Vila Belmiro Stadium, home of Santos and the site of so many of his most famous goals, with millions of Brazilians expected to pay their respects.

As a teenager, he first captured the public imagination at the 1958 World Cup, becoming the youngest player ever to score in the final at 17 years and 249 days – a record he still holds. His international career spanned three decades and he remains the only player in history to win three World Cups.

The last, in 1970, was the moment he burst into colour, no longer a distant, sepia-toned legend with so many of his achievements lost in the midst of time and in lost footage. For English football fans, it was also the tournament that cemented his place as arguably the greatest of all time, conquering the reigning champions and humbling Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton and Geoff Hurst.

Yet Pele’s story really began in the 1940s, growing up as the son of Fluminense footballer Dondinho. Named “Edson”, he later revealed in an interview his parents had picked his birth name as a tribute to the American inventor Thomas Edison, because their son had been born shortly after electricity was introduced in his hometown.

As a child, he quickly became known as “Pele”. There have been conflicting reports as to why, but the most popular story is that as a young player, while playing in goal, he was compared to local goalkeeper Bile after making a number of impressive saves. Unable to pronounce the name, he would shout “Pele” instead, and the nickname stuck for the next 75 years.

What also stuck was his passion for goalkeeping, and former team-mates have recounted his extraordinary ability between the sticks. One former Santos colleague even claimed Pele “would undoubtedly have been the Brazilian national team’s starting goalkeeper” had he wished to change position.

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In a 2019 interview with Tuttosport, Pele admitted he did not like the moniker and preferred being referred to by his birth name.

“I had a happy childhood. My name is Edson, then they started calling me Pele,” he said. “I didn’t like it, I started arguing with everyone. I was a Thomas Edison fan.

“What is Pele? Thomas Edison is important!”

The forward had no objections to the other tag attached to him by Brazilians: “O Rei”, or “The King”, which he was first dubbed in the 1958 World Cup.

The name Pele will remain immortal, however, and as Didier Deschamps surmised in his tribute, “like all legends, he seemed immortal”.

Deschamps added: “Pele was the alliance of beauty with efficiency. His talent and honors will remain forever etched in our memory.”

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