The NFL has seen a surge of player jerseys with more than just one name above the big number on a guy’s back.

I am perhaps late to noticing this because while living in Abu Dhabi the NFL was pretty much inaccessible. I missed about six years of developments while there.

Including the arrival of Jr, Sr, III, IV and, yes, even a V, on uniforms.

Apparently, the trend goes back to one player.

Before 2012, the NFL made clear it did not allow any of the extra stuff that we see now.

The rule? That would be Rule 5, Section 4, Article 2(b) of the 2013 Official NFL Playing Rules, which reads:

“Surnames of players in letters a minimum of 2½ inches high must be affixed to the exterior of jerseys across the upper back above the numerals; nicknames are prohibited.”

And so it was, apparently, right up till Robert Griffin III was drafted No. 2 overall by the Washington Redskins in 2012. He brought with him from college ball, at Baylor, the RG3 nickname, and the league just looked the other way on the “surname only” rule once the “Griffin III” shirt became the league’s No. 1 selling jersey.

(Hard to remember now how big RG3 was, there for a minute.)

And the flood gates were opened.

We saw Jr and Sr, short for Junior and Senior.

(The Senior thing, such as Steve Smith Sr, has been mocked, now and then. It has been asked, “Are you honoring yourself?” As sports journalist Bill Simmons noted: “Nobody is confusing you with your 2-year-old.”)

We saw III for players who claim (does the NFL check?) to have the same name as their father and grandfather (Golden Tate III is one of them), and then we get out to Willie Snead IV (really, did anyone go back and check his great-grandfather’s birth certificate?) who is “Snead IV” on his New Orleans Saints jersey.

And the champion in passing on his family’s habit for repeating itself? That would be William Vincent Fuller the Fifth, a rookie wide receiver with the Houston Texans whose jersey reads “Fuller V”. (Which sounds like the name of a boy band.)

Is this a fad, or is it here to stay?

Given that it has trended upward for the past few years, it may be a “thing” for a while.

I could go through and count up every player in the NFL with addenda to his surname, but it might take a long time, and we have stipulated that it’s common.

If nothing else, agents and players probably think it’s a fine thing to have a semi-unique name on a jersey. Makes a player stand out a bit.

The whole of it, though, runs the risk of becoming trite.

On a website comment area, someone posed the question: “Why is this going on … ?”

Which led to … “It makes them feel unique. Most people want to feel unique.” … and … “The problem is when so many people want to be identically unique at the same time.” … and … “Odd choice to make sure everyone knows someone has the exact same name as you in order to make yourself feel unique.”

Anyway, we presumably can look forward to more declarations of family history, right there on a player’s jersey.