Franco:"No Catalan names" Cruyff:"Hold my passport"

During Francos dictatorship, Spanish names were mandatory, so any Catalan, Basque or Galician name banned. The most iconic Catalan name, Jordi, from Saint George whom is protective saint of Catalunya, couldn’t be legally registered for almost 40 years. When Johan Cruyff got transferred to FC Barcelona for a record amount, he took notice of this repression. The next year, his wife gave birth in Amsterdam and there they named their son Jordi. After trying to register his new son in Spain as such, he was first refused and ordered to name his son Jorge instead (Jordi=Jorge=George). He refused in return, and insisted upon the Catalan name of his son. The government could do little as this was a football star with a foreign passport. Hence they were forced to accept. The first Jordi in like ~~36~~ 33 years. Cruyff a resistance hero among the Catalans.

Interestingly Johan Cruyff is such a big star in Dutch football that ever since Jordi (and Jordy) has become a moderately popular name in the Netherlands, where the Dutch version of George is Joris or Jort.

Wait Jordi is catalonian!? TIL I thought it was just a run of the mill Dutch name

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